ATP London World Tour Finals Profile: Nikolay Davydenko

London, England – US Open 2006 and 2007); but doesn’t he know when to clean up.

A top ten fixture for some time now, Davydenko has won several Masters Shields (Paris, Miami and Shanghai ) over his career and consistently dominated 500-point events, especially in the absence of his peers.

Davydenko started the season slow, playing two events and reaching only the second round. A foot injury the cause, sustained in his first event on the season in Chennai, finally forced him to sit out the first three months of the season. That he returned during the clay-court swing and pushed full steam ahead  since is deserving of all the plaudits going his way, not to mention is nigh unbelievable.

He deserves mad props for his journey and as a result should not be discounted from the proceedings at the season-ender.

Road to London:

BetUS Futures odds for Davydenko listed at +900

• Season win/loss: 53-16
• Since US Open win/loss: 15-4
• Titles: Hamburg, Umag, Kuala Lumpur and Shanghai
• Finalist: he is an impressive 4-0 in finals
• Grand Slam highlights: French Open quarters; Wimbledon R16; US Open R16
• Top ten scalps: Fernando Verdasco (Roland Garros R16 and Kuala Lumpur Final); Aussie Open).

Davydenko Head-to Heads with other world tour finals contenders:

• vs. Roger Federer: 0-12
• vs. Rafael Nadal: 3-4
• vs. Novak Djokovic: 2-2
• vs. Andy Murray: 4-5
• vs. Juan Martin Del Potro: 2-1
• vs. Andy Roddick: 1-5
• vs. Fernando Verdasco: 6-1

Betting Verdict: When Davydenko returned to ATP action at the Monte Carlo Masters, he was slipping in the rankings and the season-ending championships seemed without reach. Yet fast-forward seven months, four titles and back-to-back wins over Djokovic and Nadal and you have a right plausible candidate for the London honours.

That he is tipped rather discouragingly at +900 at BetUS Sportsbook is rather surprising but should not deter tennis bettors from backing him; one of the more consistent and on-form players to storm into the World Tour Finals Davydenko practically screams value.

High-flying Davydenko’s odds are made more attractive by the hobbled nature of most of his peers in London, save for Djokovic who has been injury-free all season long. That is not to say that because his competition is weakened ipso facto he is the best bet. Davydenko is a good bet because he has shown he is not wont to balk at taking initiative – Shanghai, case-and-point. The message: when on form, he can beat the best of them... well, except Federer against whom he has yet to get into the win column.

Prediction: No matter what the makeup of the Group, Davydenko will be a dangerous floater in his section with every chance of making it into the knockout stages. Keep in mind, Davydenko is no greenhorn t this event – he was a finalist at the 2008 Masters Cup (l. to Djokovic). Some think a similar run at this year’s season-ender would be a surprise; that they would think so is a surprise in my opinion.