Davydenko Announces Retirement

...at the age of 33

Irina will not be happy as she'll have to curb her shopping hobby.

I'll remember Davy as a player who could almost hover above the court and hit the ball so lightly and sweetly from the baseline, someone with that sly, straight Slavic sense of humour, too...and had a positive H2H with Nadal:
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Players/Head-To-Head.aspx?pId=N409&oId=D402

I saw him live only once, on my first trip to O2 in 2009 when he beat Federer in the SF, after 13 straight losses. He may have not won a slam, but he won the WTF, which is no small feat.

He obviously struggled to adjust to this physical era....

A nice article about Davy:

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2014/10/42/Davydenko-Retirement-Tribute.aspx

Cool he retired on the same day Putin (who always reminded me of Davy) arrived in Belgrade.

"In Eduard Davydenko’s two-room Volgograd apartment, Nikolay Davydenko became tennis mad. It was not an overnight transformation, for he had not considered a pro career upon arriving at his older brother’s doorstep aged 11. But the sport, ultimately, became his escape during the hard years preceding the fall of the Soviet Union. In 1992, he dedicated himself to the sport, often spending four hours per day training during school time in a bid to hone his all-court game. In the winter, his timing was tested on the wooden floor of a local police athletic club; then, in the summer months, he perfected his strokes, fine balance and athleticism on a rubbery surface. On Sundays, he put down his racquet and worked on his fitness."

he style was all fine china. He could make any body look average. I remember the time when most at 606 called him a journey man....until his game suddenly came to together and produced beautiful strokes coupled with creativity.