"The last two matches against Mikhail Youzhny and Tommy Robredo were tough and I knew this was going to be difficult."

Davydenko was by far the better player in the opening exchanges and broke a subdued top seed in the first game.

The 26-year-old Russian, regularly finding the lines and corners, forced Federer to save two more break points in the third game.

At 3-4, Federer again was under siege having to stave off another four break points.

But Davydenko, stunned by his inability to hammer home his superiority, dropped serve to love straightaway as Federer levelled the tie at 4-4 on his way to a 6-5 lead.

He claimed the set in the 12th game after 51 minutes on court.

Watched by Hollywood actor Don Johnson in the VIP box, Davydenko was hit by stagefright when he carved out a break to lead 5-4 in the second set but was unable to serve it out, allowing the Swiss to level at 5-5.

The Russian then squandered another break point, his 13th of the tie, in the 11th game before Federer romped to a two-set lead with a confident tiebreak.

Despite the deficit, Davydenko battled on.

Three more break points went begging in the second game of the third set but he made a crucial breakthrough in the fourth to lead 3-1.

However, the occasion got the better of him again when he wasted two set points on his own service in the ninth game, which handed Federer another lifeline.

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