Federer and Nikolay Davydenko were the two finalists from ATP Doha 2011 this season.
Roger Federer and Nikolay Davydenko were both looking to get off to a great start in 2011 as the two players met in the ATP Doha 2011 final. With Federer he had to have one eye on the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the calendar year and an event that takes place later this month.
Davydenko was the defending champion at Doha however this year the Russian was unable to cope with Federer as the Swiss Maestro took down the 250 level title with a straight sets 6-3, 6-4 win.
The title is the 67th of Federer's distinguished career and it was his 4th title in his last 5 efforts having only lost recently at ATP Paris in the semis.
Here's what Federer had to say after the match regarding Davydenko, Doha, and the upcoming Australian Open: "When he's on, he's easily Top 10 if not Top 5 potentially, and that's why this is obviously a huge win, because I thought he was playing well. I thought the level of play was extremely high. I was very happy with, from my side, I was almost flawless, and I was able to play offensive when I needed to, and when I wanted to it all worked out. So I'm really pleased with such a great final.
For Davydenko, the loss is a setback. Despite being ranked 22nd, he did win the title last season so he will lose some ranking points as a result of the loss:
"This is important to do well here. I'm not just using this to get ready for the Australian Open. This is a pleasure coming to this part of the world where I actually do spend quite a bit of time, and I've always had good friends here in Qatar. I love playing here, been successful here in the past."
Davydenko: “Today he was tough. Really played fast. He gave me no chance on the return, and also he was returning good. His first serve was very good. My tennis is OK, really. I don't want to say I played bad today."
