Qatar Open: Federer Loses in Semis; Davyedenko-Nadal in Final

Roger Federer, the man who was once very difficult, if not impossible, to beat, has suffered another defeat at the hands of Nikolay Davyedenko. Playing in the semi-finals of the Qatar Open, this loss has raised concern about his ability of winning big matches. Federer has lost more matches in the last year or so, in comparison to a few years ago, prompting rumors of him running out of steam. At 28, while age is catching up with him, there are still many players much older than him who are doing well on the tour. These rumors may or may not be rubbish, but Federer's constant disappointment to his millions of fans, and these surprise losses, are beginning to raise questions. Even though he has nothing left to prove, the 15-time Grand Slam champion desperately needs a few wins, and a few titles under his belt.

In the Qatar Open, Federer faced Russian Nikolay Davyedenko, who defeated him for the first time barely two months ago at the ATP Tour Finals. Davyedenko went on to win the ATP tour finals of 2009, defeating the likes of Nadal, Federer, and Djokovic. In Friday's semi-final, Davyedenko got his second victory over Federer in the 14 times they have met, this time with a straight set victory over the world number one. Post match Federer admitted to being out played and also raised a niggling doubt about his fitness level, saying "Yeah, he served very well, especially when he needed to. He played better. I felt my arm from the cold but it is not an excuse. He served well, many 200s out there. He made it difficult as the match went on." He later also said that his arm was fine and would be no trouble for the Australian Open later this month.

Davyedenko, who is playing the best tennis of his career, will advance to the finals where he will meet Rafael Nadal, the world number 2, who defeated Viktor Troicki in straight sets. Davyedenko is on a roll since the ATP Tour Finals in November last year, and is confident that the final will be a good match, even going as far as saying "The fans will get to watch a good match" (referring to the final with Nadal). Though Federer obviously played a poor game, the level of tennis was so high, that after winning, Davyedenko said "I don't know for how much longer I can hold this level of tennis." Well, Davyedenko fans will know that it has been over two months since he has held this level of tennis and if he continues this good form in the Australian Open, things will be very interesting there indeed.

All the fans hoping to see a Federer-Nadal final early in the year will have to wait, though a Davyedenko-Nadal final might prove to be interesting as well. Nadal will look to win his first ATP title since May 2009, while Davyedenko will want to go to the Australian Open with this victory under his Belt. Action still coming to you from the Qatar Open in Doha. Stay tuned...