Nikolay Davydenko beat Andy Murray 7-5 6-4 yesterday to advance into the semi-finals of the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships. The fifth seeded Davydenko now goes on to face 41st seeded Feliciano Lopez, whom he has yet to beat. Bodog.com has Davydenko as -225 odds favorite over Lopez who is listed as +165 underdog. Get your ATP Tennis Pick in now!
Murray had previously beaten Davydenko three straight times and he wasn’t about to let there be a fourth time. Davydenko beat Andy Murray as a 135-moneyline underdog. Murray had his chances but the Russian wasn’t about to break. He had break points in Davydenko’s first two service games but Murray allowed Davydenko to rally back to win 6-5 in the first set. Murray then broke to lead 3-0 in the second set, but the more aggressive Davydenko broke Murray again to go up 4-3. The battle was over. Davydenko is not a quitter; he’s a strong fast talented tennis player. Davydenko is 0-4 SU against Lopez.
Feliciano Lopez went on to upset fourth seeded David Ferrer 6-4 6-3 as a 150-moneyline underdog. Ferrer took the lead in each set, breaking to lead 2-1 in the first and 1-0 in the second, Lopez recovered both times, breaking twice to take the first set and twice more in the second. During Lopez’ interview he said “I feel really good on the court here in Dubai, the conditions are really good for me and right now I’m so happy. I beat Berdych yesterday, David today, so I’m happy to be in the semi-finals again here in Dubai. It is definitely one of my favorite tournaments to play.” The Spaniard had reached the finals in the 2004 tournament but eventually lost to Roger Federrer. He has one ATP Tour win to his name; he won the 2004 Vienna Open in which he beat Guillermo Canas. Get your ATP Tennis Pick in now!
Lopez has owned Davydenko 4-0 SU in the past. Lopez beat him in the 2004 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon winning 6-3 6-7(2) 6-3. He then beat him at the 2004 Dubai Championships 6-4 6-3, the 2003 Gerry Weber Open 7-6(5) 6-3 and at the 2002 Tunis Open 6-4 6-3. Get your ATP Tennis Pick in now!
