Former champion Nikolay Davydenko is in action against Poland's Lukasz Kubot in the second round of the Malaysian Open.
It's not been an easy season for Davydenko who's never been the same player since he broke his wrist at the start of 2010 but the Russian is still a strong contender in these ATP 250 events and he took out American prospect Ryan Harrison in straight sets earlier this week.
"I was winning the long rallies in the beginning," Davydenko said. "After 4-0, I started to get tired and I couldn't hold the same level. Then I lost my serve quite easy, my legs were getting heavy. I tried to do everything on court to survive and win the match. It doesn't matter how you feel or play, you just have to win. It was 6-3, 6-2 today but for me it was tough. The court and balls are slow here. It was really tough to hit any winners with these conditions."
The sluggish courts suited Davydenko more than the flamboyant free hitting Harrison but he'll find life tougher on Thursday against Polish grinder Kubot who's made his living on the clay courts of the world.
Kubot had a fantastic Wimbledon, stunning Gael Monfils on the way to the fourth round but he had been out for two months with injury coming into this event. He won his first match easily enough, beating Czech Lukas Rosol 6-3, 6-3 but the experienced Davydenko will be a different matter.
Davydenko won their only previous match 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 at the 2006 US Open. Look for him to progress in straight sets again.
