Russia’s Nikolay Davydenko fought through the pain barrier to reach his first grand slam quarterfinal with victory over Argentine 12th seed Guillermo Canas on Monday.
The impressive 26th seed, who is yet to lose a set in the tournament, wasted no time in dispatching a disappointing Canas, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 in only two hours and 14 minutes.
But Davydenko revealed afterwards that he had been on the brink of quitting when leading 5-3 in the third after a medical timeout for treatment to a rib injury.
”I had a lot of difficulty breathing,” Davydenko said. ”I was trying to play quick points, because if Canas got back to 5-5, I would have retired in the fourth set.”
Davydenko regained some Russian pride after a disappointing day for Russian starlets Anastasia Myskina and Elena Dementieva, but now must contend with big-serving American Andy Roddick for a semifinal berth on Wednesday.
After trading service breaks midway in the first set, Davydenko gained the ascendancy in the eighth game when he broke Canas and then held serve to close out the first set in 40 minutes.
The Russian’s powerful forehand paved in-roads into the Canas serve and accounted for most of his 15 winners in a tight opening set.
Not surprisingly, the match between the two clay specialists was characterised by long, searching baseline rallies, punctuated by well-disguised drop shots by the cheeky Davydenko.
Canas’s frustration at being denied any rhythm by the doggedness of the Russian was compounded by a series of controversial line calls on important points.
Davydenko, making his first appearance in the fourth round, drew first blood in the second set by breaking the Argentine’s serve in the fifth game with a penetrating backhand down the line.
The Russian had to overcome a nervous few moments while serving for the set, but finally secured it on his fifth opportunity through a Canas error.
The Russian must now contend with Roddick, whom he has never beaten.
”Maybe I try something different because Roddick has a great serve,” Davydenko said. ”I will need to do well on my serve and take my chances.” — Sapa-AFP