The world's No. 2 Men's Singles tennins player takes center stage as Roger Federer gets ready to play Nijolay Davydenko of Russia a 7 p.m. EDT/3 a.m. ET. If Federer can follow the pattern of his top ranked counterparts, this matchup should be a breeze and you can watch it live right here.
No disrespect to Davydenko or any of the opponents guys like Novak Djokovic or Andy Murray have faced, but these guys are so good that they have trumped the competition.
Davydenko comes into the matchup ranked 40th in Men's Singles. He is 31 years of age and is participating in his 11th Australian Open. He has had success in the past making it to the quarterfinals from 2005-2007 and then once again in 2010 after a one-year hiatus. However, in 2011 and 2012, Davydenko was bounced out of the 1st round of competition.
He defeated Dudi Sela from Israel in four slugged out sets of tesnnis. Davydenko dropped the first set, but then bounced back to sweep the next three and advance to the second round.
His prize, facing Federer, one of the most dominant tennis players in the past decade. Though always playing it cool, Federer knows he's expected to make the finals. He has claimed found Australian Opens in his career and has nine consecutive years advancing to at least the semifinals.
Of course, with the rise of guys like Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic also stepping his game up, Federer's competition has stiffened. He is still playing at a high level for a 31-year-old and will give a battle every time he steps on the court.
