Davydenko, Mathieu come from behind to reach German Open final

Mathieu and Davydenko in German Open final

HAMBURG — Second-seeded Nikolay Davydenko came from behind in both sets to beat David Ferrer 7-5, 7-6 (2) on Saturday and set up a German Open final against Paul-Henri Mathieu.

Mathieu recovered from a set down and a rain delay to beat qualifier Pablo Cuevas from Uruguay 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.

Davydenko was a break down in both sets, but the sixth-seeded Ferrer failed to take advantage.

The Spaniard was leading 5-2 when Davydenko won the next five games to take the first. Ferrer served for the second at 5-3 but again could not hold serve.

Facing a set point on his serve, Davydenko fired an ace to level the score. In the tiebreaker, he jumped out to a 5-1 lead and converted his first match point.

A leaky roof forced organizers to delay the third set of Mathieu’s match, with rain falling through the canvas cover over the center court.

When they returned, Mathieu quickly went up two breaks of serve and served for the match at 5-2. But Cuevas, who entered the ranked No. 107 in the world, broke the Frenchmen’s serve and then again with the match at 5-4.

But the Uruguayan then dropped his serve and Mathieu reached his second final of the year, after Brisbane at the start of the season.

He’ll be looking for his fifth career title. Mathieu holds a 2-0 career edge over Davydenko, who also has not won a title this year.