TENNIS in DEPTH.

Nicolay Davydenko, the iron-man of tennis, lived up to his nickname as with only 15 hours of rest he was back on court to challenge for a place in the ATP Tour final against the #1 player Roger Federer. In their previous 12 meetings Davydenko had never beated Federer, but today he changed all that as he won 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 to move on to the final, where he will meet the winner of the Soderling/Del Potro contest.

Davydenko’s ground strokes put so much pressure on Federer forcing the Swiss magician to play almost the entire match from deep in the court, often 6-10 feet behind the baseline. The Russian outplayed Federer at the net winning 80% of his volley attempts. He played a smart game of tennis, and stuck to his game plan despite Federer’s better showing in the second and third sets.

This will be second straight year that Davydenko has made it to the final, in 2008 he lost to Djokovic.

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Nikolay Davydenko admits he will not have enough time to prepare for his semi-final clash against Roger Federer at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals on Saturday afternoon.

The Russian will take to the court at London’s O2 Arena only 15 and a half hours after finishing his final round-robin match, where a 7-6 (7/4) 4-6 6-3 victory over Robin Soderling booked his semi-final spot.

The world number one, in contrast, has not played since losing to Juan Martin del Potro on Thursday night.

Davydenko, who is also struggling with a leg injury and breathing problems, said: “I have no time. Today I play night session and tomorrow at 2pm. It’s not my mistake. I hope I’ll be fit for tomorrow.”

To add to the 28-year-old’s worries, he goes into the match having lost all his previous 12 meetings with Federer.

Davydenko, though, is hopeful he will at last be able to better the world number one and reach a second consecutive final.

He said: “Every 12 times I was coming and believing I can win. But I know Federer is older, I’m also older. Maybe I start to play better and Federer not so good? We’ll see.”

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Jelena Dokic (NSW) will join fellow Australian Alicia Molik (SA) at the 2010 Moorilla Hobart International.

It will be her second appearance at the tournament having previously competed in 2008.

Announcing her entry into the AO Series event, Moorilla Hobart International Tournament Director Michael Roberts said he is excited at having one of Australia’s top females contesting the event.

“It will be great to see Dokic back in action at the Domain Tennis Centre,” Roberts said.

“She is currently Australia’s No.2 ranked female and was in excellent form leading into the end of the 2009 season.

“She captured the hearts of all tennis fans at the Australian Open in January and hopefully she can continue her form in the main draw here and get her 2010 season off to a winning start.

“With Jelena’s ranking now sitting at No.57 in the world she has direct entry into the main draw in Hobart.

“The fields here are usually very even so she will be a realistic chance of becoming only the second Australian to claim the title,” Roberts said.

Dokic revitalised her career at the Australian Open in 2009 when, as a wildcard entrant, she went on to reach the quarterfinals.

The

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Novak Djokovic’s reign as end-of-season champion ended on Friday despite victory over Rafael Nadal in his final round-robin match at the ATP World Tour Finals.

The Serb just about overcame the exhaustion he has talked about to win 7-6 (7-1) 6-3 in the afternoon session, but Nikolay Davydenko’s 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 6-3 defeat of Robin Soderling in the evening saw both the Russian and the Swede qualify.

Nadal’s hopes of reaching the semi-finals had already disappeared with defeats in both his opening matches, and he struggled with a back problem as Djokovic proved too strong in one hour 57 minutes.

Davydenko will play Roger Federer in Saturday’s first semi-final at 1415 GMT, with Soderling taking on Juan Martin del Potro at 2045 GMT.

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Alberto Costa, the Spanish Davis Cup team captain, should be worried about his two top players. The ATP tour finals are over for Nadal and Verdasco, the two worst players in the tournament, and they are both headed home to represent their country in the Davis Cup against the well rested Czech team.

Nadal was the only player in London who never won a set, and Verdasco lost all three of his matches. It is possible that both players are injured, but even if they are healthy Costa would be smart to consider choosing two fresh players from the wealth of talent that Spain has available.

Ferrer, Robredo, Ferrero, Almegro, Montanes and Lopez are all available, and all capable of representing their country against the underdog Czech team. On clay when he is in form Rafa is almost unbeatable, but he is not in form, nor has he played on clay since the Madrid Open(which he lost to Federer). Verdasco is ready for surgery, and should be sidelined.

For the sake of the team both Nadal and Verdasco should withdraw voluntarily from the Davis Cup final, and

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Novak Djokovic kept alive his chances of reaching the semi-finals of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at London’s O2 Arena with a 7-6 (7/5) 6-3 victory over Rafael Nadal.

The Serbian must now hope Nikolay Davydenko loses to Robin Soderling on Friday night while Nadal, who picked up a back injury in the second set, exits the tournament without having won a set.

This should have been a match to decide the winner of Group B but instead Nadal went into the contest already out of contention for a last-four place while Djokovic knew his fate was not in his own hands.

The Spaniard won all but four of their first 18 meetings but Djokovic has had the upper hand recently, beating Nadal convincingly in their last two matches, including in Paris earlier this month.

The Serb went on to win the title in Bercy – his fourth since the start of October – but that effort took its toll and he has looked weary and frustrated this week.

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Andy Murray agreed to add his vocal talents to a song by former Wimbledon doubles champs Bob and Mike Bryan.

But his first venture into music is unlikely to be a smash – after industry buffs branded it a right racket.

On the track Autograph – about the attention sports stars get from autograph hunters – the tennis world No 4 raps in his monotone voice: “During Wimbledon it really gets crazy. My hand cramps up and my mind gets hazy.

“I sign and sign but the line doesn’t end. Wake me up tomorrow and let’s do it again. Autograph.”

Bob and Mike convinced Murray, of Dunblane, Perthshire, and fellow star Novak Djokovic to lend their voices to the song – released on album Let It Rip, only available on iTunes.

But Edinburgh-based music industry boss Ronnie Gurr – who has worked with top bands like Stereophonics and Culture Club – said: “Murray spectacularly fails to grasp the concept that rapping must have a rhythmic dynamic.

“What this amounts to is nothing more than reading aloud a bad lyric on the plight of celebrities asked to sign their names for adoring fans.

“Never has the maxim ‘never give up your day job’ been more

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