Tennis: Russian Nikolay Davydenko destroyed Slovakia's Dominik Hrbaty 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 to take his first Masters Series title yesterday. Fourth seed Davydenko, the highest-ranked player in the Paris Masters field after a string of no-shows, needed just an hour and 38 minutes to tame Hrbaty.

Davydenko, who will move up two places to third in the ATP entry list today, has now won five tournaments this year, the same as Rafael Nadal and James Blake. Only world number one Roger Federer, with 11, has more.

The 25-year-old Russian dropped just one set in the tournament. On the form he has displayed here all week, he has to be regarded as one of the favourites for the year-end Masters Cup featuring the world's top eight players, which starts next Sunday in Shanghai.

"If he plays as well as he did here, he's going to give Federer a tough time," Hrbaty predicted. "I don't think I ever played anybody who played better than he did today."