Nikolay Davydenko has moved a step closer to securing a place at the ATP World Tour Finals in London after easing into the third round of the Paris Masters.
The Russian overcame Germany's Benjamin Becker 6-2, 6-1 to set up a meeting against either Croatia's Ivo Karlovic or ninth seed Robin Soderling of Sweden, who is one of Davydenko's rivals for a top eight berth at the season ending tournament at the O2 Arena.
With six of the world's top players already qualified, Davydenko has a firm grip on the seventh qualifying berth and can make sure of his place by reaching the semi-finals in Paris.
Spain's Fernando Verdasco currently occupies the eighth and final qualifying spot and he can stop Czech Radek Stepanek and Croatia's Marin Cilic from replacing him if he defeats Italy's Andreas Seppi.
Defending champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Chile's Fernando Gonzalez are the two other players seeking to overhaul Davydenko and Verdasco. Tsonga will begin his defence against Spain's Albert Montanes.
Davydenko broke Becker in the German's second service game and saw off four break points in the next game to open up a 3-1 lead, before breaking again to take control of the set.
Another early break gave him a 2-0 lead in the second set and he raced away as he had in the first to wrap up a simple victory in one hour and 18 minutes.
British No 1 Andy Murray, fresh from his success at the Valencia Open, will get his campain under way against James Blake on Wednesday.
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, who make up the world's top three, will also be in action tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment