Nikolay Davydenko registered his first win over Roger Federer in 13 career meetings, defeating the world No. 1 in the semifinals of the Barclay’s ATP World Tour Finals at a packed O2 Arena in London.
In a masterful display of tennis from both players, Davydenko overpowered Federer 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 in the semifinal to book a finals berth on Sunday.
The crowd favorite Federer, who was broken three straight times in the first set, came within two points of winning while leading 5-4 in the third set.
But Davydenko held on to then break Federer to take a 6-5 lead before serving out the win.
It was the Russian’s first win over the top-ranked Federer in 13 matches.