Nikolay Davydenko is pondering retirement following a first-round defeat at the French Open.
"What I need to do is see if I will continue this year after Paris or not," he was quoted as saying in press by Sport360.
"For sure I will not play Wimbledon, I’m skipping the grass completely. I’m in the Wimbledon main draw, normally I should go there but I will pull out of Wimbledon for sure. I have no interest playing there."
The former world No. 3 from Russia will drop out of the Top 100 following this tournament and emphasized that he did not want to play Challengers to rebuild his ranking. However, he said he would consider playing out the rest of the season to see how he does.
"If I continue this year I can for sure get wildcards," he explained. "That’s why I need to decide what I need to do. Because if they give me wildcards I need to practice again and need to prepare for these tournaments ... but then I need to practice and really I don’t want to practice."
The 32-year-old began having problems with his wrist in 2010, and has not been able to regain his previous form.
“I’m practicing but I don’t run so much. The feeling is that I can’t do what I did before. I can’t run like that if I start to practice very hard I start to get pain and injuries and I can’t hold my practicing level," he said.
Thinking about retirement, Davydenko says he "asked every player who finished their career and they all told me it’s a very good feeling, best feeling ever. Last year I asked Jonas Bjorkman, I asked Ivan Ljubicic and others and they said it’s perfect. I hope I will be feeling the same way."
Though he insisted he was likely not to attend any tournaments next year if he retired, Davydenko did not rule out coaching, like so many of his contemporaries are now doing. "I saw players I was playing 10 years ago and they’re now coaching. It can happen," he said.
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