Doha - A resurgent Nikolay Davydenko surprised fourth seed and fellow Russian Mikhail Youzhny by beating him 7-5, 6-3 to reach the Qatar Open quarter-finals on Wednesday.
The former world No 3 Davydenko has struggled in recent years with injury. But he looked like his old self in Doha, combining a consistent first serve with aggressive court play to unnerve the 25th-ranked Youzhny.
The first set was a tight and sloppy affair until Davydenko broke Youzhny to go up 6-5 and won the set when Youzhny hit a forehand into the net. Davydenko kept the momentum going into the second set, forcing Youzhny to save a break point in the first and third games. At 2-2, Davydenko won three successive games to take control.
Results on Wednesday from the Qatar Open, an ATP event on hard court at the Khalifa Tennis Complex (seedings in parentheses):
Singles
Second Round
Simone Bolelli (ITA) bt Lukasz Kubot (POL) 2-6, 6-4, 6-4
Lukas Lacko (SVK) bt Viktor Troicki (SRB x6) 6-3, 7-5
Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) bt Mikhail Youzhny (RUS x4) 7-5, 6-3
Paolo Lorenzi (ITA) bt Lukas Rosol (CZE) 6-0, 6-4
Daniel Brands (GER) bt Mohamed Safwat (EGY) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
Gael Monfils (FRA) bt Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER x3) 6-4, 2-6, 6-4