World number five Nikolay Davydenko said Monday he hoped to make a determined push towards Grand Slam glory this year in order to be regarded a ‘great player.’
The 27-year-old Russian finished among the top five for the fourth consecutive year in 2008, but failed to make the quarter-finals of any of the four Grand Slam events for the first time since 2004.
Davydenko, who is top-seeded for the $450,000 ATP Chennai Open starting Monday, hoped the new season would prove more profitable for him in the bigger tournaments.
‘It is OK to finish among the top five, but it is more important to do well in the Grand Slams if you want to be counted as a great player,’ he said.
‘I don't just want to stay among the top five. I want to prove something.
‘I want to get a good result in a Grand Slam. I've got to the semi-finals, but I want to get to a final.’
The high point for Davydenko last year was winning the Miami Masters title after recording back-to-back wins over Andy Roddick and world number one Rafael Nadal.
He also entered the final of the season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai in November, in which he lost to Serbia's Novak Djokovic.
‘Look, I will continue to get points and stay at the top by winning tournaments on the circuit, but it is the big ones that count,’ Davydenko said.
‘That has to be my top priority this year.’
The Russian has already made a new beginning by choosing to start his ATP season in Chennai after playing in the more lucrative Doha event for the past six years.
‘I wanted to change something,’ he said. ‘Playing in Doha for six years in a row was too much. Maybe I will win in Chennai and go better prepared to Australia.’
Davydenko's main challengers in Chennai will be world number 13 Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland, the Croatian duo of Marin Cilic and Ivo Karlovic, and Spanish veteran Carlos Moya, who won the title in 2005 and 2006.
‘The first tournament of the year is always difficult, so it is very tough to predict how I will go,’ said the Russian, who last played in Chennai in 2001.
Davydenko's Russian compatriot Mikhail Youzhny won the tournament last year by defeating Nadal in the final. Neither finalist chose to return this year.
Davydenko played down any security concerns in the wake of the Mumbai attacks in November, saying ‘why should I worry? Chennai is far away from Mumbai.’
