London: Russian Nikolay Davydenko crept from the shadows and waylaid favourite Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina 6-3, 6-4 to become the first Russian ever to win the season-ending 2009 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at London's O2 Arena on Sunday.
"It's feels great to win a big event like this in London," said Davydenko who picked up a winner's purse of $1.5 million (Dh5.5 million). "I think I have a lot of new English fans now. I want to thank my wife Irina and all my team for their support all week.
"I also want to thank Barclays for supporting events like this, it is important to have sponsorship in sports at this time," he said.
Davydenko, who ended a fairly successful season with four titles on the ATP World Tour in 2009, was always in control against his fifth-seeded opponent from Argentina.
Davydenko also became the first Russian in the history of this tournament (since 1970) to capture the year-end title. And besides his runner-up effort last season — where he fell to Novak Djokovic — the only other Russian to vie for the title was Yevgeny Kafelnikov, losing out to Pete Sampras in the 1997 final.
Coming in as the underdog yesterday, Davydenko did what he has done best through this week — just play steady, consistent tennis.
It has been a fulfilling week for one of the under-rated players on tour — after finishing with four titles (in Hamburg, Umag, Kuala Lumpur and Shanghai) before coming to London.
On Saturday evening, he had crossed another personal landmark when he had knocked out World No.1 Roger Federer in the semifinal, while also notching his first-ever win against the Swiss ace in 13 meetings so far.
It was this consistency in approach that again fetched Davydenko the rewards as he broke Del Potro in the sixth and then held on to go 5-2 clear to ultimately take the first set 6-3 in 38 minutes.
Steady approach
In the second set, too, Davydenko maintained his steady style of play and got his chance in the ninth when del Potro hit a forehand long and the Russian served out the set and match 6-4.
The title also guaranteed Davydenko the No.6 spot in the rankings while also helping him pick up a whopping $1.5 million cheque.
Sunday's match was the fourth meeting between the two, with the Russian going in with a 2-1 edge.
Both players had come in for the final with a gruelling week of tennis behind them — Del Potro playing a total of 12 sets and Davydenko just the one less.
Results
Doubles: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan (2) bt Max Mirnyi/Andy Ram (7) 7-6 (5), 6-3.
Singles: Nikolay Davydenko (5) bt Juan Martin del Potro (6) 6-3, 6-4.
