Kuala Lumpur : In fairness, 17-year-old junior Nazim and singles specialist Davydenko had little chance in their match against the 4th seeded doubles pairing of American Eric Butorac and Jean-Julien Rojer of the Netherlands Antilles, as they went down 3-6, 3-6 in front of a highly supportive local crowd.
"It was a great experience for me today with Nicolay supporting me throughout the game and teaching me some tactics as we went along," said Nazim, who although played for the first time in the main draw of an ATP Tour event today, hopes to break into the ATP world rankings by the end of next year.
Nicolay, who stayed back to practice on Centre Court with Nazim after the game, praised the teen's ability as he looked forward to opening his singles campaign against fellow Russian qualifier Igor Andreev tomorrow night. "He played pretty good today and I think he has a bright future.
I need to fight and run a lot against Igor tomorrow. His ranking may not be so high, but he is a tough player," said the world number six, who aims to defend the title he won last year.
What's important is for us Malaysian's to support our younger players and give them the confidence that is needed for them to progress to the next level. Malaysian's need to learn to rally for our players and not put them down at every opportunity if the results don't go right. I sadly still remember the treatment Alex Yoong got when he was in F1. Shattered his confidence. Very Sad.
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