Nikolay Davydenko Profile

This 26 year old Ukrainian player has won 11 ATP singles titles. Davydenko was born under the Soviet Union regime, but he now plays representing Russia instead of his native Ukraine.

His best result in a Grand Slam tournament has been reaching the semi-finals, which he has accomplished four times: at the 2005 French Open, 2006 US Open, 2007 French Open and the 2007 US Open.

When he was 11 years old Davydenko left his parents in Ukraine to live with his elder brother Eduard in Volgograd, Russia hoping that there he would find more opportunities to become a professional tennis player. Davydenko was granted Russian citizenship in 1999 at the age of 18, and has represented Russia ever since.

In 2006 Davydenko helped Russia win the Davis Cup against Argentina, 3-2. He finished the regular season by winning his second Moscow crown and his first ATP Masters Series tournament in Paris to end the year as the No.1 Russian and ranked No.3 in the world.

Last year Davydenko compiled a 17-4 record in Grand Slam play with two losses coming to Roger Federer. He played 30 tournaments, the most in 2007 among Top 10 players for third straight season. He was a member of the Russian Davis Cup team which reached the final but lost in the final 4-1 to Andy Roddick, James Blake and the rest of the American team.

Davydenko was off to a hot start winning eleven of his 16 first matches while reaching the quarterfinals or better in three of his first five tournaments; however he struggled on clay, where he won 14 matches and lost 12. He went 3-7 against Top 10 opponents but had a good showing on hard court as he compiled a mark of 34-16 and on grass where he won four of six matches.

In 2007 Davydenko earned over $2 million for second straight season. As of February 14, 2008, he was the top ranked player for Russia and fourth in the world.

Birthday: June 2, 1981
Birthplace: Ukraine
Residence: Russia
Pro: since 1999