The Footwork Master

With his impressive performance in the semifinals of the ATP Master Series Rome event versus Rafael Nadal, Nikolay Davydenko has all of a sudden put himself on the radar screen as a potential winner at Roland Garros when it starts in a couple of weeks. The Russian, currently ranked number 4 in the world, had Nadal on the ropes, both physically and mentally, but just couldn't close the deal when he needed to in the third set. However, he served notice that he might be turning his game around just in time for the year's second major.

Thus far, 2007 has been a rather ordinary season for one of the game's best movers on court. He has no titles this year and has yet to reach a final. However, the guy's footwork is incredible, especially on hard courts, and that footwork was a big factor in his ability to hang with Nadal in Rome. Where other players had been chasing Nadal's shots down and were unable to get much power on the returns, Davydenko always seemed in position and was able to handle Nadal's best with penetrating replies. Can he do that at Roland Garros? That remains to be seen as the various clay surfaces on the European tour tend to vary and a good result in Rome is not necessarily a key predictor for success against El Rey del Clay in Paris (see Roger Federer 2006). Campo Centrale at the Foro Italico is known as one of the faster clay surfaces on the European swing, although this year it didn't look nearly as fast as last year when it appeared all of the topsoil had blown away. The speed of the court may have helped Davydenko in his clash with Rafa, but in the end Nadal was able to seize the moment when it mattered.

The courts in Paris aren't quite as fast as Rome and it may be harder to hurt Nadal on a slower court as he'll have time to chase everything down. Yet, Davydenko may have shown the rest of the field the way to beat Nadal on clay, although it won't be easy to complete that mission. The question for the world's number 4 is can he improve on his Grand Slam performances with success in Paris and at the same time, turn his lackluster year around? Unquestionably, Nadal is the favorite at Roland Garros, but don't count out the man with the best footwork on the tour. He just might be able to push the King of Clay to the brink in their next encounter.