NEW YORK -- For more than a year, the cloud of a gambling investigation has covered Nikolay Davydenko. So after he lost to a qualifier ranked 130th at the U.S. Open, the question was inevitable.
Did he feel a need, Davydenko was asked Tuesday, to explain how in the world Gilles Muller upset him?
"I can beat everyone and I can lose to everyone," the fifth-seeded Russian said, without a hint of anger or agitation. "Normally I have a chance to win, but I didn't."
"What can I say?" he said. "Not a thing about (the) investigation or something else."
Muller won 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (10) in the fourth round, adding to Davydenko's tough year on and off the court.
The gambling probe began in August 2007 after Davydenko pulled out of a match in Poland against lowly Martin Vassallo Arguello in the third set because of a bad foot. An online betting agency voided all wagers, citing an inordinate amount of money put on the match -- including lots of bets for Arguello, even after he lost the first set.
ATP investigators spoke to Davydenko, his wife and family members and reviewed telephone records. This summer, Davydenko said he may have inadvertently tipped off bettors by talking too loudly about his injury to his wife during the tournament.
There has been no official word from tennis officials on the outcome of the investigation.
Sticking around
Gilles Muller turned down tickets to Thursday's NFL opener at Giants Stadium because he expected to be home by then. It turns out that he'll still be in town late in the second week of the U.S. Open, but he wouldn't have been able to make the game, anyway.
The world's 130th-ranked player has a date Thursday with four-time defending champion Roger Federer in the quarterfinals.
The lefty from Luxembourg became just the second qualifier in the 40-year Open era to advance this far. He beat No. 5 Nikolay Davydenko 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (10) on Tuesday.
Muller joked that he was used to watching the later rounds from home.
