ATP PROFILE: Nikolay Davydenko

看板ALL-RUSSIANS作者esnique (小鱷)時間22年前 (2003/05/22 05:16)推噓3(3推 0噓 0→)

留言3則, 2人參與討論串1/2 (看更多)

http://www.atptennis.com/en/newsandscores/news/news/davydenko_profile.asp Player on the Move: Nikolay Davydenko The Russian is playing this week at the Internationaler Raiffeisen Grand Prix in St. Polten. He's a man of many flags, but a player with one goal in mind: to improve his game to the point where he can be a threat at any tournament in the world. With two ATP titles already in 2003 and a stunning five-set victory in the fifth and deciding set of a Davis Cup tie against the Czech Republic in February, Nikolay Davydenko is no doubt one of Russia's future tennis stars. "I'm one of those players who likes to play a lot of tournaments," says Davydenko, 21. "You never know who you will play in any given week. Last year, I played 40 tournaments. Every match and every tournament is as important as the next for me - that's how I improve." Davydenko was born in the Ukraine, currently lives in Germany, but owns an apartment in Volgograd, Russia and plays under the Russian flag. "I feel part German, since I've been there since I was 15, but I will play my whole tennis career as a Russian." Following his older brother Eduard into the sport, Davydenko started to play at age seven. Three years later, he and his brother moved to Volgograd, where Nikolay honed his game on the fast wood surface that the city tennis center offered. It was not your typical tennis upbringing, but it proved successful for Davydenko. "I had a lot of kids to play with when I was young," he says. "But they were usually four or five years older than me." In 1996, he moved to Salmtal, Germany, to live with his brother and his brother's wife. In Germany, he began playing on clay - only on clay - and developed his game into the hard-hitting, all-court style that has been so effective since turning pro in 1999. He broke into the top 100 in 2001 and last year finished 85th in the ATP Entry Rankings. Then, Davydenko really made a move. In January 2003, he captured his first ATP title in Adelaide, dropping just one set during the week. Three months later, he won another title in Estoril, notching wins over countryman Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Argentina's Agustin Calleri in the process. "I was playing well already at the end of 2002. I switched racquets [to Head] in August and I felt a lot more comfortable," he says of his improvement this year. "My shoulder problems went away and I trained for a few weeks in Thailand in the off-season which was great preparation for the heat." Besides getting physically stronger, Davydenko says his mental game has improved simply by playing week-in-week-out. And he does what he needs to feel comfortable on the road. "My brother comes with me everywhere," says Davydenko of Eduard, who remains his coach and confidant. "I really like having friends with me when I am on the road. That way it's not always tennis, tennis, tennis. When I won in Estoril, my girlfriend Irina was there and it was really special." His victory in Estoril came nearly two months after Davydenko fractured his left wrist at the Kroger St. Jude in Memphis. "It was tough, I went back to Moscow to be looked at by doctors," he says. "But when I started training again, it was great to be in Argentina [at the end of March] with the Russian team and practicing on the clay. It was great preparation for the clay court season." His parents, Vladimir and Tatjana, live too far away, in Astrakhan in central Russia, to see him play often, but they will be in Moscow for the Kremlin Cup and the St. Petersburg Open this fall. And Russia is ultimately where Davydenko feels at home. "The high point of my tennis career was winning that deciding match for Russia in Davis Cup this year," he says. "And I've been looking at moving back to Russia." But for now, Davydenko continues to do what he does best: prepare for and play each and every match like it's the opportunity of a lifetime. -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.csie.ntu.edu.tw) ◆ From: 61.230.116.119