World #5 Nikolay Davydenko has pulled out of the current Chennai Open and also rules himself out of the Aussie Open with a persistent heel injury.
This comes a quite a surprise as he has been the epitome of a grinder the past 3 years, playing more tournaments than anybody else in the top 10. This is not a good sign for Davydenko, as the consistent week after week performances are what defines him as a player. If injuries start to creep up on him, he will find it hard to keep up his ranking in my opinion. There has been no timetable set for his return as of yet.
This doesn’t have to big of an impact on the Australian Open however. Whichever of the top 4 Davydenko would’ve been drawn against, most likely would’ve beaten him in the quarters. I feel he is definitely a step below all of them right now. This does effect the lower seeds, as it will push everyone else up one and maybe give them a more favorable draw.
