By Chris Oddo | Thursday, October 16, 2014
Former world No. 3 Nikolay Davydenko announced his retirement in Moscow at the age of 33.
Photo Source: AP
Russian Nikolay Davydenko announced his retirement at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow on Thursday, ending a wildly entertaining and impressive career that netted the man affectionately dubbed as “Kolya” and “Playstation” 482 career wins, 21 titles, five consecutive top ten finishes between 2005 and 2009 and a career-high ranking of 3 in the world.
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“Unfortunately, for some years now, I have been struggling with injuries,” Dayydenko said. “It’s hard for me to talk about it. I have been thinking when to announce it. The time has come.”
Davydenko, diminutive but sprightly and explosive, became known for his quickness and his ability to tattoo ground strokes at blazing speeds during his 15-year professional career.
He used these skills to great effect, reaching 46th on the ATP’s all-time win list and reaching the semifinals at Grand Slams four times. He also finished in the top five for four consecutive years from 2005 to 2008.
In 2009, Davydenko took the tennis world by storm when he rolled into the World Tour Finals and reeled off four consecutive wins (including wins over Nadal and Federer) to take the title in the tournament’s first year at the O2 Arena in London.
“I am 33 years old,” Davydenko told reporters, according to ATPworldtour.com. “I won 21 ATP World Tour tournaments, including three ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments, and the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London. I don’t have any regrets about not winning a Grand Slam or not being No. 1 in the world. I was in the Top 10 for some years.”
Davydenko says that he is planning to embark on a new career in business and finance, both domestically and internationally.