Melbourne, Jan 27 (ANI): Nikolay Davydenko, who will be looking for a hat-trick of wins against Roger Federer, believes the World No.1 is “scared” of him, and he will be looking to prove his point in their Australian Open quarter-final match at Rod Laver Arena.

The Russian has beaten Federer in their past two encounters, and he’s eager to make that three in a row.

Pundits say Davydenko now has one of the best returns in the world, but over the past 12 months, it’s his serve that has made him a contender against the world’s best.

Davydenko, who once remarked that he was constantly yawning at Wimbledon because it was the world’s most boring tournament, has spoken of his love of cash and how he doesn’t want to be famous like Federer, Rafael Nadal and, Paris Hilton.

He also noted again this week that his racquet company Prince had no money left over for him because they gave it to Russian Maria Sharapova, FOX Sports reports.

“I am so hot now. But I just read it like last year. I was the ice man and now I am very hot,” Davydenko said.

Davydenko had lost 12 straight matches to Federer but the turning point came when Davydenko defeated Federer for the first time at the ATP World Tour Finals in London in November, and followed that up with victory in the Qatar Open semi-finals earlier this month.

Asked what has changed in his game, Davydenko said: “Yeah, I start to run faster.” (ANI)