Nikolay Davydenko was a big name in the world of tennis between 2005 and 2009. He achieved a career-high ranking of number 3 during this time. After his retirement in 2014, Davydenko is now busy coaching kids in the age group of 9-11.
While it may come as a surprise, Davydenko is one of those rare players who holds a better head-to-head record against Rafael Nadal. The two have met 11 times and the former Russian tennis player has managed to get the better of Nadal on six occasions.
Davydenko: In tennis, it is about matchups – my game matched up well with Nadal’s on hardcourts, I had no problems with him. On the other hand, I could never beat James Blake on hard because he was hitting hard and he was looking to finish off points in two or three shots.
— Saša Ozmo (@ozmo_sasa) June 20, 2022
In a recent interview with Clay Magazine, Davydenko revealed how Nadal was like any other player to him when it came to playing on the hard court. However, he admitted it was tough to beat Nadal on clay court. Furthermore, he said, “I have beaten him in all our matches on hardcourt, but I lost every match on clay, which is expected.”
For Davydenko, the toughest opponent he faced was Roger Federer. Against him, the Russian was always underconfident and found it very hard to get things going in his favor. That is why he has beaten Federer only twice in a total of 21 encounters.
Nikolay Davydenko thinks Rafael Nadal took a big risk by playing in the French Open
Despite his chronic foot injury, Rafael Nadal won the French Open this year. The severity of his injury reached a point where he had to take injections to ease his pain. The Spaniard even admitted that he might not do it again.
As per Davydenko, the Spaniard took a big health risk by playing in the tournament. The Russian applauded Nadal for acing the tournament despite his injury. Beating Nadal on clay is a humungous task and Davydenko feels one can only beat Nadal at the start of the tournament.
Davydenko: It is amazing what #Nadal has done. I think it was risky health-wise what he has done with the foot, but he is absolutely allowed to do it. Maybe his mentality was that it might be his last Roland Garros, so he went all-in not minding the consequences.
— Saša Ozmo (@ozmo_sasa) June 20, 2022
The former world number 3 is also of the opinion that this year was probably Nadal’s last French Open. He said, “Maybe his mentality was that it might be his last Roland Garros, so he went all-in not minding the consequences.”