The Cyclops, Day Two: Davydenko v. Evans
The Cyclops is our daily look at the one match you should make a point of following during the upcoming day at Wimbledon.
Nikolay Davydenko RUS (12) v. Daniel Evans GBR, Court 4, 12:00 p.m. GMT
On paper, this is should be a cakewalk for Davydenko. The No. 11 ranked player in the world is facing off against a young man who is barely the 10th-most famous guy named Daniel Evans on Wikipedia. The 19-year old Brit, ranked No. 305 in the world, will be playing in just his second ATP match against a man who has qualified for four career Grand Slam semifinals. The only question should be, just how quickly will Davydenko dispose of the teenager?
But, let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. Davydenko has lost five of his last seven first round matches at Wimbledon, including last year to the No. 112 player in the world (who happened to be named Benjamin Becker, but was sadly not related to Boris Beker). Basically, Davydenko isn't built for Wimbledon.
Whether Daniel Evans is is a question for tomorrow. We know he wasn't built for rules and regulations, as last year he and his doubles partner were suspended for carousing late-night before a match. Their privileges were revoked and they were basically persona non grata to the tennis community for the remainder of the year.
Now, Evans says he's back on track. He won futures matches and earned a Wild Card into Wimbledon, where he hopes to continue his ascent through the rankings (from 1,000 to 300 in a few months).
Davydenko is still the heavy favorite, but his past Wimbledon demons could come back to haunt him should Evans get off to a good start and the rabid British fans start getting in his corner.
