I do believe Nikolay Davydenko is becoming famous in tennis circles for being...completely forgettable. Somehow I doubt he minds.
From the Sun-Sentinel: No. 5 has to try harder
When you see Nikolay Davydenko you think, "This guy's No. 5?" With his fair complexion, triangular face and thinning blond hair, he looks like a computer hacker who gets caught sending viruses from his parents' house. He doesn't possess the muscular build of Nadal or Roddick, or the broad shoulders of Federer or David Nalbandian, the players ahead of him in the ATP rankings.
That's probably why he was upstaged by Camille Neviere, the girlfriend of Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis, during the first day of practice.
Davydenko racked up rankings points by playing in 30 tournaments last year. In comparison, Federer appeared in 15, and Lleyton Hewitt, who finished last season at No. 4, played in just 10. Still, Davydenko hasn't performed well in Grand Slams -- he reached his first singles semifinal at last year's French Open -- and plays infrequently in the United States, so he goes unrecognized here. When he starts his practice with fellow Russian Dmitry Tursunov, five people are watching. After a few minutes, three of them leave. This doesn't seem to bother Davydenko.
"Most of my best results have been in Europe and Australia," he said after his second-round win over Mardy Fish. "If I do better in tournaments in the U.S., maybe more people will know me."
On the court next to Davydenko's, Baghdatis is hitting with 18th-ranked Dominik Hrbaty. Of the 40 or so people sitting in the stands, only one -- Neviere -- is wearing a black dress. Anyone who watched this year's Australian Open on TV would recall ESPN2's love affair with the French model.
As Baghdatis and Hrbaty are hitting, some fans are watching the ball move east and west. Other fans, mainly young men, are watching Neviere. Even fewer are watching Davydenko, the fifth-best player on the planet.
Davydenko, however, won sweet ironic justice: In a third-round match Sunday, he beat Baghdatis 7-5 in the deciding set.
Poor Dank, the guy gets no respect.
Posted by: PMac | March 30, 2006 at 04:20 PM