Two former champions, Nikolay Davydenko and Paul-Henri Mathieu will battle it out for the Kremlin Cup 2007 title in Moscow on Sunday. In their four previous meetings both have won twice, Mathieu winning the most recent encounter in the Davis Cup World Group quarterfinals on clay in April.
Davydenko is appearing in his first final of the year, and his first since winning the ATP Masters Series Paris title at the end of last year (d. Hrbaty)
The Russian has a 10-3 lifetime in ATP finals. Three of those titles have come on indoor surfaces, including two Moscow crowns.
The 26-year-old Davydenko is still searching for his first title of 2007, but has enjoyed another consistent season. The World No. 4 has now reached the quarterfinals or better in 11 events, including two semifinal appearances at Roland Garros and the US Open, losing to Roger Federer on both occasions. He has recorded a 49-27 season. En route to the final he has not dropped a set in defeating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Nicolas Lapentti, Igor Andreev and Janko Tipsarevic.
Davydenko is now 14-2 in Moscow. He won the title in 2004 (d. Rusedski) and last year (d. Safin).
Mathieu is contesting his third ATP final of the season. He is 2-0 in his first two, winning the titles in Casablanca (d. Montanes) and Gstaad (d. Seppi).
The Frenchman is 4-1 lifetime in ATP finals. Two of those titles have come on indoor surfaces, including one title win in Moscow (d. Schalken) and one in Lyon (d. Kuerten).
World No. 24 Mathieu won his third and fourth ATP titles in Casablanca (d. Montanes) and Gstaad (d. Seppi) this season, his first titles since 2002. The 25-year-old has recorded a 42-20 season so far. He reached a career-high rank of No. 20 (August 27, 2007) in the South African Airways ATP Rankings after reaching the semifinals in New Haven (l. to Blake), however three first round losses afterwards saw his ranking slide to No. 24. Mathieu is yet to drop a set in Moscow this week; he has defeated Sebastien Grosjean, Igor Kunitsyn, Florent Serra and Michael Berrer on his way to the final.
Mathieu has defeated four Top 10 players this season. Two of those victories came against Davydenko; the Frenchman has also beaten Fernando Gonzalez twice this season, in AMS Miami and Estoril. However, he has lost his last four encounters against the game’s elite, most recently against James Blake in the New Haven semifinals.
Mathieu is now 12-2 in Moscow. His best results came when he won his maiden ATP title there in 2002 (d. Schalken), and reached the semifinals in 2003 (l. to Dent). (ATP Digital Services)
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