Nikolay has his day...

It what many consider to be a stunning turn of events, Russian Nikolay Davydenko fought his way to the championship at the ATP World Tour Finals held in London 11/22 - 11/29 defeating Juan Martin del Potro 6-3, 6-4. (For full results, click here)

The 28 year old Davydenko not only used his characteristic baseline consistency and cat-like quickness around the court to work his way through the competition, but also unveiled an unacquainted willingness to attack and finish points at the net. In fact, Davydenko, who had been known to flash one of the tour’s worst volleys, strikingly similar to former Clipper netman, Ton Pham, was able to show vast improvement in the areas of touch and decision making at the net. It was this net play that surprised top oppenents and lifted Davydenko to the title. For his efforts, the Russian, who was described by his opponent after the match as "very strong, very fast, he plays like Play Station" was awarded $1,510,000 in prize money, hopefully not owed to any organized faction back home, and moved up to #6 in the 30 November 2009 world rankings.

Perhaps Nikolay has realized that he needed to make changes to his game in order to compete with the heavyweights of the sport. Ranked as high as #3 at the end of 2006, Davydenko, who has been unable to claim a Grand Slam title in his illustrious career, has seen his ranking decline and his dominance wane.

If indeed Davydenko has made some well thought out, and much needed alterations to his arsenal, I applaud him for that. It is refreshing to see even the best of players realize that change is needed to stay at the top of the sport. In fact, it is a good lesson for all that play. We should always seek to improve and not simply be satisfied with what we currently do on the court...or in life for that matter. After all, truthfully, learning is a life-long process...

Nuff said...