He’s not for the birds: Top Russian Nikolay Davydenko won his second Tennis Masters Series title by handily beating Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-2 at the 2008 Sony Ericsson Open. This after overcoming Andy Roddick in the semis. Looks like Kolya has finally shaken off the mental insecurities that came with being under investigation for match fixing. Like Mary Carillo said in during CBS‘ coverage of the final, “This is what Davydenko will be known for” even if he’s cleared of allegations. Better leave all that worrying to your lawyers, Nikolay.
Meanwhile, Serena Williams defended her women’s singles title by swatting off a pesky Jelena Jankovic 6-1, 5-7, 6-3. The Serbian put up a fight against Serena but also had to battle the heat.
Who cares if she gets yet another crystal vase? Those big gold earrings are trophy enough!
Katarina Srebotnik and Ai Sugiyama, the second seeds, defeated top seeds Cara Black and Liezel Huber 7-5, 4-6, 10-3.
The Bryan Brothers return to the podium after what seemed like a monopoly by the Israelis (Ehrlich and Ram). They won over Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles 6-2, 6-2.
More photos: Serena with Jelena, Nikolay, and Nikolay with Irina, his wife, below.
(photos by Getty Images)
