Davydenko in second round of St Petersburg Open

ST PETERSBURG: Top seed Nikolay Davydenko crushed Frenchman Fabrice Santoro 6-3 6-1 in the first round of the St Petersburg Open on Tuesday.   

The Russian, one of several players chasing a spot in next month's season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai, eased through his second victory over Santoro in 10 days in just 62 minutes.   

World number six Davydenko also beat the Frenchman in straight sets in the Kremlin Cup semi-final in Moscow earlier this month on the way to claiming his fourth title of the year.