Davydenko to miss Australian Open

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CHENNAI, India -- Nikolay Davydenko will miss the Australian Open because of a left heel injury. The fifth-ranked Russian also pulled out of the Chennai Open, where he was the top-seeded player and was to face Lucas Dlouhy of the Czech Republic in the second round Wednesday. "I'm having acute pain in my left heel that flared up last week," Davydenko said. "I've had painkillers even today and the doctors here in Chennai have tried some therapy for a few days, but I now need to fix this before playing any more tournaments. It's obviously serious since I'll even miss the Australian Open." The 27-year-old Davydenko said the injury also bothered him last season. "The problem started last year, but I thought I could still continue playing. It was (painful) even when I played the Shanghai Masters in November," said Davydenko, who lost the final of that event to Novak Djokovic. "I need to check my heel and that's why I'm going home, to see what's happening and what's wrong. I really don't know (the) exact nature of my injury and the extent of damage. "The pain's been there for two months, but I thought I could continue playing since it wasn't too painful. It has become unbearable during the past two weeks." Davydenko said he hadn't had a scan on his heel since the pain worsened last week at an exhibition event in the United Arab Emirates, which also featured Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Roddick. "It was during the game against Roddick that it started playing up, but I somehow managed. Against Nadal, it was really bad but I continued to play," Davydenko said. "And here in Chennai, I just couldn't do anything when I woke up today after playing my first match yesterday. I can't run and I can't play. I know that I may not return to the court soon." Davydenko defeated Daniel Koellerer of Austria 6-2, 6-3 Tuesday in the first round of the Chennai Open. "I could have rested for a few days and the pain might have reduced, but then it could become painful as soon as I resumed playing. That's not a solution," Davydenko said. Davydenko said Monday his resolution for this year was to improve at Grand Slam events after failing to reach the quarter-finals of any of the four major championships in 2008 for the first time in four years. Having reached the semifinal stage at the French Open in 2005 and '07 and the U.S. Open in 2006 and '07, Davydenko's best Grand Slam finishes last year were fourth-round exits at the Australian and U.S. Opens. "What's important is that I have to be fit as there are still three more Grand Slam tournaments left," Davydenko said. "I won't lose too many points from these two tournaments, I'll probably still be ranked sixth, seventh or eighth."