Davydenko out of Indian Wells with broken wrist
Originally published on: 15/03/10 11:12
Dunlop’s new-boy Nikolay Davydenko is expected to be out of action for the next four weeks after scans on Sunday revealed he had suffered a broken wrist.
The Russian – who signed a sponsorship deal with racket and apparel giants Dunlop last week – initially injured his wrist in a fall during his semi-final defeat to Robin Soderling in Rotterdam in February.
Despite safely negotiating his opening match at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships two weeks later, he was forced to withdraw midway through his second round tie with German Michael Berrer after dropping the opening set.
“I thought about quitting before the match, but in practice I was OK. A match is different though,” said Davydenko after the retirement.
But when an MRI scan on Sunday revealed the extent of the injury and that his left wrist was in fact fractured, the 28-year-old was forced to withdraw from the BNP Paribas Open ahead of his third round clash with Serbian Viktor Troicki – a player who has never defeated him on the ATP tour.
The world No.6 has been in a rich vein of form in recent times, notching up back-to-back wins against Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to add the Doha title to his Barclays ATP World Tour finals triumph back in November.
Tipped to build on his career-best semi-final display at the Grand Slams on the back of his good form, Davydenko did not drop a set until the fourth round of the Australian Open, but his charge through the rounds was halted by Roger Federer in the quarter-finals.
Despite holding the upper hand in their previous two meetings, eventual champion Federer hit back from the loss of the first set in Melbourne to grab his 13th victory in 15 meetings with the Russian.
Davydenko’s left wrist is expected to be in a splint for at least the next four weeks, ruling him out of the second Masters 1000 event of the year – the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, where he won the title in 2008.
After his opponent’s withdrawal, Troicki receives a walkover into round four – where he will meet either Tomas Berdych or Fernando Verdasco.
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