Gasquet rallies past Davydenko to clinch Doha title

In a memorable finale to the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, Richard Gasquet became the fourth Frenchman to clinch the title in Doha by denying a spirited effort from the tireless Nikolay Davydenko 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-3 after a pulsating two and a half hour battle. The Russian, in his third final here in four years, had a hand on the Golden Eagle when he led by a set and 4-2 in the second set. But the match took a decisive turn when Gasquet saved a double break point to gain a second wind and somehow find the resolve to waltz past his opponent in a remarkable come from behind effort, kick starting his season on a high.

The 31-year old Russian got off to a blistering 3-0 start and was steady as rock as he cruised intently to clinch the set. The 10th ranked Frenchman however came back strongly to clinch an early break, but the Russian was equal to the task as he wasted no time in getting back to level terms. Davydenko broke a second time, but faltered on the brink to allow his French opponent the space to return the favour and force a tie-break. Gasquet ensured a decisive final set, when he clinched the tie-break 7-4.

The final set remained on serve till Davydenko pulled a forehand long in the fifth game of the final set to offer a couple of break points to his increasingly fluid French opponent. Gasquet needed just one, with Davydenko overcooking his backhand in the quest for depth on his stroke. Gasquet consolidated the break to take a 4-2 lead. A sweetly timed backhand up the line that eluded a lunging Davydenko, helped the Frenchman to 0-30 in the seventh game. At break point, Gasquet showed off his leg speed by chasing down a forehand before sprinting back like a hare to strike a lunging backhand winner which almost sealed the fate of the Russian.

But the scent of victory tightened the Frenchman’s sinews and a succession of unforced errors allowed the Russian a sniff of hope. Davydenko grabbed at the opportunity like a kid after candy to clinch the game with a stinging forehand winner, to thrust his foot back in the door. But the Frenchman was intent on making his fighting spirit count – he regained his composure quickly and at 30-30 in the ninth game, Davydenko landed his backhand just millimetres long to hand the Frenchman a championship point. The 26-year old let out an elated smile even as he sank on the court in celebration immediately after the Russian’s backhand landed at the bottom of the net.

Playing from way behind the baseline, Gasquet showed exceptional skill and power to work the ball deep into the Russian’s territory. The second seed made use of the extra seconds his position afforded him to set up his stroke before executing it with a smart transfer of power to strike a flat ball across the net. Unfortunately for Davydenko, his forays to the net were not as successful either as he lost 8 of the 15 points from the forecourt. At the other end, the Frenchman’s single handed backhand was smooth as silk, giving back the crowd the worth of the ticket and its master some timely points. The Russian had twice as many winners as his opponent (36-18), but 57 unforced errors were one too many in a match of this calibre.

Gasquet pocketed $177,000 for emulating countrymen Fabrice Santoro (2000), Nicolas Escude (2004) and the winner last year, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in clinching his eighth career title. Davydenko, even at 31, is showing no signs of slowing down but the 2010 champion had to stay content with the runner-up trophy just as he did as defending champion in 2011.

In the doubles final played earlier in the day, the German pairing of Christopher Kas and Philipp Kohlschreiber took just 79 minutes to defeat Austrian Julian Knowle and Slovak Filip Polasek to claim their third ATP World Tour doubles title and the first since the Gerry Weber open in 2009.