Nadal and Davydenko squared off for the first time since the Shanghai finals.

Nikolay Davydenko faced Rafael Nadal in the second cycle of round robin play in London earlier today.  The match represented an opportunity for a winless competitor to get back into contention at the Barclay's ATP World Tour Finals.  Nadal came in as a slight underdog having not played good tennis against the top players on tour in several months now.

In opening the match however, Nadal did not play like a slight underdog, but a HUGE one.

The first set must have been very difficult for Nadal supporters to watch.  Davydenko broke Nadal early and late and as he, Davydenko, raced out to a dominant 6-1 first set victory with hardly a fist-pump from the Spaniard.

Nadal played better in the early second set but he was still scrambling to save break points early on.  Where Davydenko held his serve with relative ease, Nadal had to fight to protect his service games with all his energy.  He fought off numerous break points in the early going but Davydenko finally converted a break in the fifth game to go up 3-2.

Nadal had an opportunity to break back in the next game but Davydenko saved the points to stay ahead 4-2 and Nadal was talking to himself in frustration.

After that Nadal really increased his level of play and he caught Davydenko playing tentatively.  Nadal broke back and took a 5-4 lead in the set and that left everything to play for in this contest.

The second set went the distance, a credit to Nadal's determination and drive, but in the second set Davydenko had just a little extra and he won 6-1, 7-6.

The key to the match for Davydenko was that he played world class tennis through the entire match while Nadal didn't show up until the second set.  If Nadal had played strong tennis in the first set, then he probably would have tired Davydenko out as the Russian showed some signs of fatiguing late in the match.

As it went though, Nadal, still set-less in London, is done for the season except for his final match against Djokovic where he can play spoiler.

The match was available to be viewed with live streaming with bet365 who will be streaming future matches at the ATP World Tour Finals still.