2007 US OPEN
SF
ROGER FEDERER v NIKOLAY DAVYDENKO
7-5, 6-1, 7-5
Federer continued his mastery of Davydenko, improving to 10-0 lifetime over the
Russian.
That includes wins in a US Open semi-final last year and a French Open semi-final triumph in which he was a break down in all three sets.
Federer's record looks
great, but Davydenko was very close to winning at the French, and had a lot of
chances on the hard courts at the US Open too.
"I was very relieved. It was a very tough match," Federer said. "I'm thrilled to
be back in another final and give myself another opportunity."
The Russian tries to take time away from his opponents by taking the ball early, like Agassi, and uses his supreme conditioning to try to wear down his opponents.
Davydenko, seeded
fourth, broke Federer's serve in the first game of the match and opened a 3-1
lead before the 11-time Grand Slam champion came back with a service break of
his own.
Federer trailed 5-3 in the third set before taking the final four games to win
the match, breaking Davydenko twice to push his total to nine.
Davydenko couldn't close
out the set on his serve at 5-3 and also failed to convert two set points with a
5-4 lead.
Nikolay actually had the better of Federer during most baseline exchanges, but
Davydenko struggled to hold serve which cost him the match.
USA ORDERS:
NON-USA ORDERS: