TENNIS in DEPTH.

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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