This morning, the Russian tennis player Nikolay Davydenko (photo ©Emmett Hume) has announced his retirement from the competitions in a press conference held in Moscow.
Nikolay Davydenko was born on June 2, 1981 in Volgograd, in the then USSR and now in Russia. He started playing tennis when he was 7 years old with his brother Eduard, who has always been his coach. He turned pro in 1999.
Initially, Nikolay Davydenko played tournaments in the Futures Tour then started attending those of the higher level, winning his first Challenger in 2000. His improvements have been slow but steady beyond some physical problem.
In 2003, Nikolay Davydenko won his first ATP tournament in Adelaide, Estoril and St. Pölten. These results showed his skills on different surfaces and the progress he made over the years through hard work.
In 2004, Nikolay Davydenko won the tournaments in Munich and Moscow. Especially he started having results consistently enough to bring him for the first time among the top 30 in the ATP rankings.
In 2005, Nikolay Davydenko started to get good results in the Grand Slams with the quarterfinals at the Australian Open and the semifinals at Roland Garros. During the year, he won again the tournament in St. Pölten and qualified for the first time for the ATP Finals, reaching the semifinals finishing the year at no. 5 in the ATP rankings.
In 2006, Nikolay Davydenko had his best year, winning again the tournaments in Estoril and Moscow and those of Pörtschach, Båstad, Sopot, New Haven and Paris-Bercy. He also reached the for the first time semifinals at the U.S. Open. During the year he also married Irina and helped Russia to win the Davis Cup. He finished the year at no. 3 in the ATP rankings, his best result.
In 2007, Nikolay Davydenko won the tournament in Moscow obly but got so many good results that he finished the year at no. 4 in the ATP rankings.
In 2008, Nikolay Davydenko won again the tournaments at Estoril and Pörtschach and those of Miami, Warsaw and Shanghai. At the ATP Finals he reached the final for the first time.
In 2009, a left foot injury hampered the first part of the season for Nikolay Davydenko. After missing a few months, he managed to win the tournaments in Umag, Kuala Lumpur and Shanghai. Above all, at the end of the year he won the ATP Finals.
In early 2010, Nikolay Davydenko won the Qatar Open but due to a wrist injury he had to skip several weeks and after his return he struggled to return to his previous levels.
In 2011, Nikolay Davydenko won the Qatar Open again and the tournament in Munich but his decline started. The speed and reflexes that had characterized his best years seemed in decline and his results were affected. The Russian won his last tournament, again the Qatar Open, in 2013.
In recent years, Nikolay Davydenko had various physical problems and couldn’t get back to 100% anymore and aventually he decided to retire. He was a player without a great talent but reached extraordinary levels working hard with consistency.
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