Nikolay Davydenko sounded a warning to his rivals with a straight sets demolition of Dieter Kindlmann at the Australian Open.
Russian demolishes Kindlmann in straight sets
Nikolay Davydenko sounded a warning to his rivals that he is ready to win his first Grand Slam title after a straight sets demolition of Dieter Kindlmann at the Australian Open.
The sixth seed has reached Grand Slam semi-finals on four occasions, but has yet to go on to win a major title.
However Davydenko's 6-1 6-0 6-3 rout of Kindlmann means he remains unbeaten in 2010 - with victories already over world No.1 Roger Federer and world No.2 Rafael Nadal in Doha.
And the 28-year-old Russian believes he can now go on to win in Melbourne.
"Now I feel like I can beat everyone," he said. "Before no, mostly I was losing against these guys.
"But now I can beat everyone, it's a good feeling.
"I think I've started to play a little bit better, and volley better.
Shock
"If you saw my match against Nadal in the final in Doha, I started to go to the net.
"I started to make some points volleying, made so many winners volleying, and maybe a I'm a little bit better serving."
Davydenko will be joined in the second round by a trio of seeds after Gael Monfils, Fernando Verdasco and Marin Cilic all registered wins - however there was a shock defeat for Tommy Robredo.
Spaniard Robredo, ranked 16th for the tournament, was completely blown away as he lost 6-4 6-2 6-2 to Colombian Santiago Giraldo.
Monfils, the 12th seed, wasted little time in toppling Australian Matthew Ebden 6-4 6-4 6-4, while Spanish ninth seed Fernando Verdasco was forced to tough it out against Carsten Ball 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-1) 7-5 6-2.
Cilic, the 14th seed, ensured Fabrice Santoro's record 18th Australian Open ended in a disappointing straight sets defeat. The Croatian came out on top 7-5 7-5 6-3.
