Davydenko demolishes Hrbaty for 10th title

Nikolay Davydenko hammered Dominik Hrbaty 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 yesterday to win the Paris Masters - his fifth title of the season. The fourth-seeded Russian dropped only one set in the tournament as he won his 10th career title in one hour and 38 minutes.

Davydenko's ability to hit both sides of the court from the baseline with accuracy and power had left Hrbaty struggling from the start. The first set took only 21 minutes with Davydenko winning 92 per cent of points on his first serve.

Hrbaty saved two second-set points at 5-1 down to bring sympathetic cheers from the crowd and had a glimmer of hope in the sixth game of the third set. But Davydenko saved those two break points and held for a 4-2 lead. The Russian then broke again and served out the match.