ESPN 2008 US Open

NEW YORK -- Don't misunderstand -- fifth seed Nikolay Davydenko would rather have won on Tuesday rather than be sliced and diced by the unlikeliest of U.S. Open quarterfinalists, No. 130 Gilles Muller of Luxembourg.

But Davydenko is also counting the days until the end of this season, and holding his breath until what looks like the end of his off-court purgatory.

The Times of London, citing anonymous sources, reported this week that Davydenko soon would be officially cleared of any responsibility in betting irregularities in a match he lost in a minor tournament in Poland 13 months ago. Although Davydenko played well in the latter part of the 2007 season and won the Masters Series event in Miami in April, he admitted that his 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (10) fourth-round loss to Muller was partly attributable to cumulative fatigue and loss of motivation -- especially after his first-round loss at Wimbledon this summer.

"This year I was pretty tired,'' said Davydenko, who added that he has received no formal word about the investigation. "I didn't play so much. And I don't want to play so much tennis in this year. That was I don't make such good result this year. … For sure I finish in top 10, but I can feel, like, I can play better, but not this year.''

Davydenko did give his opponent credit, saying Muller robbed him of his rhythm by changing pace during rallies instead of playing into the Russian's grinding baseline style.

Known for his endurance, Davydenko said he prefers to prepare for tournaments by competing week in and week out rather than taking time off to train. "If I stay home, I don't practice so much,'' he explained. Ergo, playing fewer events -- he has played 20 so far this year, compared to 26 at this point last season -- disrupted him.

"After Wimbledon, I didn't play one month or two months, you know, tournaments,'' Davydenko said. "I didn't want to play. And I didn't practice well.

"You know, I have Davis Cup, and just four, five tournaments left indoor. I try my best to prepare, but I don't know how I feel mentally and, how I want to prepare. It's a problem. … I need to decide something to change after this year.''

The match was played before a sparse audience at Louis Armstrong Stadium, while most fans gravitated to watch defending champion Roger Federer's tense five-set win over another Russian, Igor Andreev, in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Some great tennis was played in the smaller venue as well, especially in the fourth-set tiebreaker, when Davydenko saved two match points before Muller pulled it out in an odd rally that reflected the karma of the afternoon. Muller swatted a backhand that ticked the netcord as it went over; Davydenko's forehand response hit the tape and bounced back toward him. He looked at it in disbelief, then smashed his racket in frustration -- it was the fourth one he destroyed during the match.

"Now go home, no rackets,'' Davydenko said. "It's good.'' By contrast, he won the Sony Ericsson using a single racket through six matches.

It was the third significant upset Muller, a qualifier who has now won seven straight matches in Flushing Meadows, has managed over top seeds in Grand Slam events. He took out Rafael Nadal in the second round of Wimbledon in 2005, and shockingly eliminated Andy Roddick in the first round of the U.S. Open.

Bonnie D. Ford covers tennis and Olympic sports for ESPN.com. She can be reached at bonniedford@aol.com.