Nikolay Davydenko claimed top honours in the 2009 German Open on Sunday, defeating Paul-Henri Mathieu in the final major clay court event of the season.

Second seeded Davydenko defeated his French opponent 6-4, 6-2 to claim his first title of the season. Davydenko took the German Open title having dropped just one set during the course of the tournament.

“When you win the tournament then you always say it’s the best week because before I did not win any tournaments,” Davydenko told reporters after the match. “It was semi-finals, quarter-finals and once I got to the final and won the tournament. It’s a very good week for me.”

“I’m very happy because I’ve won 15 ATP World Tour titles. I was surprised at the beginning as Mathieu started playing very well. I started fighting to come back and for me it was very good play to win the first set 6-4. Then every point, every game was important and I won 6-2.”

Mathieu was quick to praise his German Open final opponent, whilst also suggesting that he’d come into the match as a spent force.

“I think he played a great match today,” Mathieu said. “He was very solid. I think I would have needed a bit more energy to win today. I think I was less aggressive than yesterday. I left pretty much energy on the court yesterday and to beat a guy like Nikolay you have to be 100 per cent physically.”

Nikolay Davydenko (2) (Russia) def. Jeremy Chardy (15) (France) 6-3, 6-3
Paul-Henri Mathieu (13) (France) def. Daniel Brands (Germany) 7-5, 7-5
Pablo Cuevas (Uruguay) def. Philipp Kohlschreiber (8) (Germany) 6-4, 7-6 (8)
Nicolas Almagro (14) (Spain) def. Robin Soderling (3) (Sweden) 7-5, 6-3
Victor Hanescu (11) (Romania) def. Julien Benneteau (France) 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
Viktor Troicki (10) (Serbia) def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (Spain) 6-7 (2), 6-4, 7-6 (6)
David Ferrer (6) (Spain) def. Juan Monaco (Argentina) 4-6, 7-5, 6-2
Simon Greul (Germany) def. Ivan Navarro (Spain) 7-5, 7-6 (7)

Sweden’s Robin Soderling ended his impressive run of form on clay yesterday, losing to Nicolas Almagro in the third round of the 2009 German Open.

Prior to Soderling’s 7-5, 6-3 defeat of Almagro the Swede had won 18 of his last 21 matches, with his only defeats coming in three matches against French Open champion Roger Federer. Soderling had defeated Almagro at their most recent meeting at Wimbledon.

Soderling wasn’t the only seed to fall on Saturday, as Germany’s Phillip Kohlschreiber saw his German Open campaign fall to pieces in a 6-4, 7-6 (8) defeat to Uruguayan qualifier, Pablo Cuevas.

“The longer the match lasted, the better he played,” Kohlschreiber told reporters after the match. “I did not put enough pressure on him, my shots were too short. It was humid and the balls got slower.”

Meanwhile Nikolay Davydenko’s stock at the tournament rose, as the second seed recorded a fluent 6-3, 6-3 win over France’s Jeremy Chardy.

German fans were left with a home player to cheer for after Simon Greul defeated Spain’s Ivan Navarro 7-5, 7-6 (7).

Second Round
Robin Soderling (3) (Sweden) def. Fabio Fognini (Italy) 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-3.
Jeremy Chardy (15) (France) def. Andreas Beck (Germany) 7-6 (2), 7-6 (6).
Victor Hanescu (11) (Romania) def. Jan Hernych (Czech Republic) 6-2, 6-3.
Julien Benneteau (France) def. Igor Andreev (7) (Russia) 6-4, 6-3.

Robin Soderling continued an impressive winning streak on clay at the German Open in Hamburg on Wednesday, defeating Fabio Fognini to advance to the third round of the tournament.

Soderling came into the 2009 German Open hot off the back of a victory in the Swedish Open. Only Roger Federer has managed to defeat the Swede in his last 21 matches, and Soderling looks to be a genuine title contender in Hamburg after beating Fognini 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-3.

Meanwhile France’s Jeremy Chardy also secured passage to the third round of the 2009 Hamburg Open. The Frenchman required two tie-breaks to end the challenge of home favourite, Andreas Beck, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (6).

“I have a lot of confidence, I played my best tennis last week,” Chardy said after the match. “The court was different though and it was hard to play well. But I served very well indoors.”

The third day of the 2009 German Open also produced a win for Russia’s Nikolay Davydenko, who defeated Germany’s Philipp Petzschner 6-3, 6-2. Beaten Stuttgart Open finalist, Victor Hanescu, also reached the third round with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Jan Hernych.

Finally, David Ferrer of Spain eliminated the last German in the draw by beating Florian Mayer 6-3, 6-2.

Tuesday

First Round
Julien Benneteau (France) def. Juan Ignacio Chela (Argentina) 6-4, 1-6, 6-1.
Juan Monaco (Argentina) def. Mikhail Youzhny (Russia) 7-6 (4), 6-3.
Florian Mayer (Germany) def. Rainer Schuettler (Germany) 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-3.
Fabio Fognini (Italy) def. Ivo Minar (Czech Republic) 6-4, 6-2.

Second Round
Ivan Navarro (Spain) def. Tommy Robredo (4) (Spain) 7-5, 7-6 (2).
Pablo Cuevas (Uruguay) def. Jurgen Melzer (9) (Austria) 7-6 (5), 6-3.
Paul-Henri Mathieu (13) (France) def. Pere Riba (Spain) 6-1, 2-6, 7-6 (3).
Viktor Troicki (10) (Serbia) def. Teimuraz Gabashvili (Russia) 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (Spain) def. Stanislas Wawrinka (5) (Switzerland) 6-2, 6-4.
Philipp Kohlschreiber (8) (Germany) def. Potito Starace (Italy) 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.
Daniel Brands (Germany) def. Gilles Simon (1) (France) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Monday

First Round
Andreas Beck (Germany) def. Oscar Hernandez (Spain) 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-4
Marcel Granollers (Spain) def. Martin Vassallo Arguello (Argentina) 6-4, 6-4
Simon Greul (Germany) def. Janko Tipsarevic (Serbia) 2-6, 6-3, 6-3
Jan Hernych (Czech Republic) def. Kevin Krawietz (Germany) 6-0, 4-6, 6-3
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (Spain) def. Christophe Rochus (Belgium) 6-4, 6-2
Potito Starace (Italy) def. Maximo Gonzalez (Argentina) 5-7, 6-4, 6-3
Ivan Navarro (Spain) def. Steve Darcis (Belgium) 6-4, 6-4
Pere Riba (Spain) def. Evgeny Korolev (Russia) 7-6(3), 6-2
Philipp Petzschner (Germany) def. Florent Serra (France) 7-6(3), 6-2
Teimuraz Gabashvili (Russia) def. Andreas Seppi (Italy) 6-3, 6-1
Daniel Brands (Germany) def. Victor Crivoi (Romania) 4-6, 6-4, 6-1
Pablo Cuevas (Uruguay) def. Bjoern Phau (Germany) 7-6(0), 6-4

The 2009 German Open produced two major upsets on Tuesday as top seeds Gilles Simon and Tommy Robredo were sent crashing out of the tournament.

Gilles Simon’s downfall was engineered by German qualifier, Daniel Brands, who reversed a one set deficit to record a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory.

Meanwhile Tommy Rebredo fell at the hands of compatriot, Ivan Navarro, who secured victory in two sets, winning 7-5, 7-6. Navarro has never won on the ATP Tour, and the victory over the 2006 German Open Champion will have ranked as one of the biggest of his career.

The second round of the 2009 German Open produced another major casualty when Stanislas Wawrinka succumbed to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-2, 6-4. There was more to come as 9th seed, Jurgen Melzer, lost 7-6, 6-3 to Uruguayan qualifier Pablo Cuevas.

Paul-Henri Mathieu struck a blow for the seeded players later in the day, when he narrowly avoided a defeat to world 145, Pere Riba, in a tiebreaker.

The 2009 German Open began with wins for the home team on Monday, as Philipp Petzschner, Daniel Brands, Simon Greul and Andreas Beck all secured passage to the second round of the ATP tournament.

Petzschner got the ball rolling for the Germans with a 7-6, 6-2 victory over France’s Florent Serra. The victory earned Petzschner a place opposite Nikolay Davydenko in the second round of the tournament. Meanwhile wildcard Daniel Brands upset Romania’s Victor Crivoi 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 to set up a second round meeting with Gilles Simon of France.

Simon Greul produced another upset for the home team when he overcame a one set deficit to defeat Serbia’s Janko Tipsarevic 2-6, 6-3, 6-3. Andreas Beck then completed a good day for German players by ousting Span’s Oscar Hernandez 6-7, 6-4, 6-4.

Other results on Monday saw another upset as Russia’s Teimuraz Gabashvili sent Andreas Seppi of Italy packing with a 6-3, 6-1 defeat. Tuesday is likely to see a number of German players fall by the wayside, as the seeded players make their debut in the second round.

Rafael Nadal is the 2008 Hamburg Masters champion. The world’s top clay court player once again demonstrated his dominance on the surface yesterday, defeating Roger Federer in a tough three set encounter.

Nadal almost lost the first set, before engineering one of his trademark comebacks that saw him clinch the opener 7-5. Federer was made to fight all the way for the second set, which he eventually claimed 7-6 after being forced into a tie-break.

Federer had no answer to Nadal in the final set, as the Spanish player powered into a 4-1 lead. Federer was unable to break the Spaniard’s serve and conceded defeat four games later, losing the match 7-5, 6-7, 6-3.

The result saw Nadal clinch the only major clay court tournament to have eluded him during his career. Nadal also improved his record against Federer. The Spaniard has won 10 of the encounters between the two top ranked players, while Federer has prevailed on another 6 occasions.

Nadal’s win at the 2008 Hamburg Masters final will be a major setback for Roger Federer’s hopes of winning his first French Open. The world number one has had a tough time in the run-up to the tournament, having claimed only one ATP title so far this year – the Estoril Open in Portugal.