An unfashionable, uncharismatic and almost unnoticed man will be among the contenders at the Australian Open, writes Paul Lewis.
He once called it irrelevant but it is fair bet Nikolay Davydenko now thinks the Australian Open tournament is a highly desirable event.
He might even get a request for an autograph or two - and maybe no one will mention match-fixing.
Davydenko famously was not asked for one autograph as he beat Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and then Juan Martin del Potro, the Argentine US Open winner of last year, in the final of the ATP World Tour Finals in London in November.
The autograph hunters sought tastier quarry, besieging the other three while ignoring the whippet-like and balding Davydenko.
Yet the 28-year-old Russian did it again in Doha last week - beating Federer in the semifinal then Nadal in the final - and he is perhaps the most intriguing of the Super Six at the head of the men's draw: Federer (world No 1), Nadal (2), Novak Djokovic (3), del Potro (4) and Britain's Andy Murray (5).
He doesn't look much like a tennis superstar and balding hasn't been cool since Andre Agassi quit the scene. But Davydenko, ranked sixth in the world, is a definite contender for the first Grand Slam of the year, starting tomorrow.
He's had to live with a bit of criticism. Many fans call him boring, seeing him as a dogged baseliner. He is - but that doesn't do justice to his sweetly timed ground strokes and his two greatest weapons.
One is his speed. He perhaps covers the court faster and at more length than any other, including Nadal.
The latter's high-energy game is being threatened by his knees but Davydenko is lean - 1.78m but only 70kg. That means he gains some of the advantages of being tall, or tallish, on a tennis court but doesn't have the body weight to lug around to scramble to those hard-to-get balls.
He is a flexible unit, wearing down players with those clinical ground strokes and with his second great weapon - an Agassi-like ability to take the ball early.
In top tennis, where the leading players hit with such ferocity and spin, the ability to take the ball early puts pressure back on the opponent.
The ball comes back faster than expected; with depth and pace. The opponent has to adjust timing and court work. He's not allowed to settle into a familiar rhythm.
Davydenko plays with excellent depth and his crosscourt shots can fire off his racquet at acute angles. The error is often forced.
But because fans don't really see the artistry - they see a baseliner without a big drawcard style or shot, unlike Federer's silky backhand or Nadal's macho style - Davydenko, who does not have a big serve, is bagged as boring.
He is also still associated with the event that will always be linked to him - even though no charges were laid, nor evidence produced to demonstrate there was any justification in the allegations: the 2007 episode where "match-fixing" was bandied about after his strange match with Argentine Martin Vassallo Arguello in Poland at an ATP tournament.
Davydenko retired from a second-round match trailing Arguello in the third set, 6-2 3-6 1-2. It was a substantial upset by the No 87-ranked Argentine but somehow a lot of people saw it coming.
Some US$7 million - more than 10 times the usual wagered on such an average match - went on the clash. More suspiciously, an hour before the match, the odds swung in favour of Arguello, taking him from a long-priced journeyman to a warm favourite.
Davydenko won the first set. But money continued to pour in for Arguello. Somebody, apparently, knew something about someone.
Betfair, the world's largest internet betting outfit, saw the strange pattern of betting and cancelled all wagers. But, after an investigation, tennis authorities drew a blank and Davydenko faced no censure.
Not officially, anyway, even though the findings were couched more in the language of "no evidence" as opposed to "no case to answer".
It also didn't help that Davydenko has been called more than once by umpires (and fined) for not trying his best, although such an occurrence usually comes when a player feels a result is inevitable as opposed to any effort to take a match in a certain direction.
The upshot was that everyone knew of the allegations but few realised Davydenko had been cleared. Small wonder Davydenko feels as if he was convicted of a crime he wasn't even charged with committing.
"As a professional athlete, you always have the spotlight on you. It is important to stay focused on those things that you can control," he said after he beat Federer in the final in London in November.
Federer said: "He [Davydenko] didn't have the easiest of the last few years, where people suspected him of doing bad things in the sport. He had a cloud over his name for quite some time, which was not very fair.
"He handled it very well. To be able to continue playing this well must not have been very easy for him. So I respect him not only for that but obviously for the player he is."
Davydenko has always maintained that a foot injury - which had caused him to lose four out of his previous five matches - was the problem in that 2007 match.
It is not beyond the realms of possibility that those who knew tennis well and who bet on it (Betfair attracts tennis bets in the billions every year and punters like tennis because of the one-on-one aspect and the ability to alter a bet even as a game is under way) could see that Davydenko might be about to falter.
Whatever the case, the suspicion attached to that US$7 million betting plunge remains - which is why it is so interesting that Davydenko has hit such a rich vein of form before the Australian Open.
His Doha win against Federer was impressive enough but his comeback against Nadal was as gutsy as it was surprising.
Nadal stormed to the first set 6-0, looking unstoppable. But Davydenko's speed, resilience and dogged fetching and placing saw Nadal blow two match points before the Russian closed out the match.
It was a result that caused many observers to feel Nadal is not yet at his best - he hasn't won a tournament in eight months. Even Nadal said he didn't win in Doha because he hadn't won a tournament for a long time; a tacit admission that the powerful Spaniard is re-learning how to win.
Federer is also yet to show he is in top form and Davydenko - after losing all 13 of his matches against the Swiss - has now won the last two.
Djokovic is still trying to lose the quitter's tag after some unconvincing retirements following the high of his Australian Open win in 2007; del Potro has to carry the weight of being a Slam winner and may have a wrist injury; and Murray has only once made a Slam final.
Meanwhile, Davydenko has become only the second man to beat both Federer and Nadal in the same tournament twice - Argentina's David Nalbandian was the first, in 2007.
Djokovic beat Nadal and Federer in the 2007 Montreal Masters Series, while del Potro is the only man to beat them both in a Grand Slam tournament; at the 2009 US Open.
Davydenko also became only the second player to defeat Nadal at least three times in a final. Federer has beaten the Spaniard five times in a final.
Yet plenty will dismiss Davydenko in Melbourne. The Russian has never got past a semifinal in a Grand Slam event. A Slam is best of five sets, not best of three (the format where Davydenko has won all his 20 singles titles) and he has always said he does not have the physical tools to last through to the second Sunday in a Slam.
"In the three sets, I can [beat Federer and Nadal]. However, in five sets, it will be different. And in the Australian Open, conditions will be totally different, with temperatures around 30 degrees. Here, the weather was cooler, with temperatures of 18 to 20 degrees," said Davydenko after Doha.
After his win in London, Davydenko also made it clear that, while he didn't mind the fame and attention lavished on other players, he hoped some of it would come his way. In London, he revealed he was not asked for one autograph, even after beating Federer.
"Maybe everybody's concentrating on Nadal and Federer," he said. "Everybody's looking their way, not mine. But it's good. I really enjoy it. I don't want to be so much famous like these guys. Because it's really difficult for Federer.
"I know he always tries to have a different hotel, quiet, to spend time with family. He's for sure famous for winning Wimbledon. Everybody knows him. But maybe now after London here, I have also little bit, little bit, just small part famous here in London. I would like it."
Davydenko was also keen on more recognition at home: "I used to play Marat [the now retired Marat Safin] a lot in Russia and maybe 80 per cent of the support was for him. It would be nice to have more support now.
"I hope after this tournament [London], I become more famous in Russia. For me, it's really important. It's really disappointing. I hope in the future, I'll be famous for Russia and everybody will support me."
Maybe that will happen after Melbourne.
