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KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. -- Nikolay Davydenko pumped both fists in the air, jogged to the center of the court and rested his arms on the net before waiting for Rafael Nadal. After a brief handshake, Davydenko walked around clapping his hand to his racket.
He was thanking the crowd, but he was also proud of himself. And for good reason. When Davydenko's final forehand landed in Sunday, he had defeated Nadal 6-4, 6-2 to win the Sony Ericsson Open title.
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| Nikolay Davydenko is able to put the investigation behind him to win at Key Biscayne. (Getty Images) |
Davydenko, the No. 4 player in the world, is most known for his alleged role in a betting investigation last year even though he's been a top five player since 2005. But all that was in the past Sunday for Davydenko, who won his first title this year.
He wasn't thinking about the investigation. All he was focused on was the win and getting ready for the rest of this season.
"I don't feel now something difficult in the moment," Davydenko said. "Really, I'm feeling great. (The investigation) is not every day in my mind. It's in my mind if you ask me. It should be my lawyer thinking about it and my manager. But for me, it's like I already forgot."
Davydenko is still looking for his first career victory in a Grand Slam, which is why despite his high ranking, most people are unaware of his skills. Instead, his problems with the match-fixing allegation have garnered the majority of headlines in his career.
Davydenko is being investigated by the ATP for a match he lost against Martin Vassallo Arguello in the second round at the Polish Open last August. Davydenko retired in the third set due to a foot injury and said he did nothing wrong, but there were suspicious betting patterns with the more than $7 million in wagers on the London-based gambling website Betfair.
According to reports, the online betting company voided all the bets, and the investigation began. It has brought Davydenko a level of shame.
But as his wife, Irina, pointed out in November, before the investigations began he was a nobody. At least now he was a somebody. And if he keeps winning like he did here, he could be a very big somebody.
"To be famous in tennis you need to win Grand Slams," Davydenko said. "If I would like to be famous, I need to win tournaments."
Davydenko said winning the title here was the best moment in his career. He overcame a match point in each of his first two matches and beat No. 6 Andy Roddick in the semifinals and No. 2 Nadal in the finals. It was the first time Davydenko has beaten either player.
Davydenko said he was a "little bit lucky" to win. He also managed to secure the victory with only one racket. He changed his model before the tournament and used the same racket in all six matches and during practice.
