Davydenko suffers defeat to qualifier Muller

Fifth seed Nikolay Davydenko crashed out of the US Open tonight after suffering a 6-4 4-6 6-3 7-6 (12/10) fourth-round defeat by qualifier Gilles Muller.

The last meeting between the two players ended with a dominant 6-4 6-0 6-3 victory for Davydenko but although Muller made 45 unforced errors – 23 more than his opponent – an impressive 20 aces helped to ensure the 25-year-old from Luxembourg’s progression to the quarter-finals.

Davydenko lost the first set when he gave away a couple of points through unforced errors, and although he battled back to take the second, Muller claimed the third to move 2-1 ahead.

The fourth went to a tie-break and a double fault by Davydenko gave Muller match point before he won the tie-break and the match.

The defeat was the first for Davydenko against Muller in four career meetings and is the first time the latter has reached the quarter-final stage of the US Open in his career.