Sun Apr 6 14:57:14 2008

Comment | Email | Print

Davydenko routs Nadal to capture Miami crown

---

Miami, FL (Sports Network) - Nikolay Davydenko of Russia captured the Sony Ericsson Open title with a surprisingly easy straight-set victory over Spain's Rafael Nadal on Sunday.

The fourth-seeded Davydenko posted a 6-4, 6-2 triumph in just one hour and 22 minutes to earn his 12th career ATP singles title and first of 2008.

Nadal, seeded second this week, lost in the final of this event for the second time in his career. He also fell to Roger Federer in the 2005 title match.

After a trade of early breaks, Davydenko staved off two break-point chances to hold serve in the sixth game of the match, then broke at love in the following game to grab a 4-3 lead. He held serve the rest of the way and captured the opening set when Nadal sent a backhander wide.

Davydenko broke serve in the first game of the second set and dominated from there. He held at love in the next game and broke again for a 4-1 edge before finally burying Nadal with a forehand winner on match point.

It marked the first victory in three tries for Davydenko against Nadal.

Davydenko, who beat Andy Roddick in the semifinals, pocketed a first prize of $590,000. His best previous finishes this year were semifinal runs at Qatar and Doha.

Nadal, a runner-up for the second time in 2008, earned $295,000. He also lost in the final at Chennai before the Australian Open and has yet to win a title this year.