Nikolay Davydenko

Russian Number One and currently world number four, Nikolay Davydenko at 27 is still waiting to come of age in tennis terms. He has had a great career but continues it seems tio live in the shadows of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal and at the age of 27 he has yet to win a Grand Slam. He is an exciting player to watch who employs an aggressive baseline game, using hard, penetrating groundstrokes on both wings. His groundstrokes are technically efficient on both forehand and backhand. He hits the ball extremely early which generates immense power and depth resembling former World Number one, Andre Agassi. Davydenko's best shot is his backhand which he can hit down the line, cross court or with extreme angles. He is known for his running shots which he takes early and often turn into winners.

He has been a three time Quarter Finalist here in 2005, 2006 and 2007 and last year he was knocked out in the last sixteen to Mikhail Youzhny. He has also reached the semi finals of four other Tennis Grand Slam Tournaments, the US Open in 2006 and 2007 and the French Open in 2005 and 2007. He clearly has an all surface game, with the exception of grass perhaps and he is long overdue an appearance in his first Grand Slam Final. He always seems to fall when the pressure gets highest, but he has proven that he has got what it takes to win having secured 14 singles titles in his career so far.