Davydenko and the gambling investigation that haunts him

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Nikolay Davydenko was associated with an ugly tennis gambling inquiry involving a tournament in Sopot, Poland, two years ago. He was eventually cleared, but often when Davydenko loses, especially as he did Monday at the U.S. Open, the questions are asked again.

The eighth-seeded Davydenko lost to 12th-seeded Robin Soderling by walking away from the match after the third set. A tournament spokesman described Davydenko’s injury as a ‘sore thigh.’

Afterward, Soderling was asked if he was surprised when Davydenko quit. ‘Yeah, I was a little surprised,’ Soderling said. ‘Because I thought he was moving pretty well.’

Davydenko wasn’t even able to describe his injury. ‘Just some muscle problem, like groin muscle,’ he said. ‘We don’t know yet. I can’t explain.’ Davydenko was asked if he was going to get an X-ray or MRI exam. ‘Not here,’ he said. ‘I going to go home today or tomorrow and I do at home.’

And then the inevitable. Davydenko was asked if more attention was paid to his injuries because of the gambling incident.

‘I really don’t care,’ he said. ‘For me, I really don’t care now. I do my way and if I have injury, I don’t want to finish my match. If I feel like I don’t finish, I don’t finish. Doesn’t matter what happened in Sopot. I don’t know what’s happening now. I really don’t care anymore.’

-- Diane Pucin