he moved to Salmtal, Germany with Eduard to further improve and participate in more tournaments. Davydenko turned professional in 1999. In 2000, he played mainly on the Futures Tour, where he captured one title and reached three finals. He made his ATP debut at Amsterdam, reaching the semifinal. Later in August, he won his first Challenger title in Mönchengladbach. 2001–2003 Davydenko made his Grand Slam debut in 2001 at the Australian Open, where he made it to the second round, before losing to former world no. 1, Patrick Rafter in four sets. This performance captured the public eye for his talent and ability. Later in February, he injured his lower back in Dallas and was out for six weeks. After the injury, he came back to win two Challenger titles in Ulm and Istanbul. He finished the season with a quarterfinal showing in Basel. In 2002, Davydenko continued to play on both the ATP Tour and in Challenger events. It was a steady year with quarterfinal appearances in Båstad and Vienna. During the year, he captured his fourth Challenger title in Szczecin. Davydenko made huge strides on the ATP Tour in 2003. He opened the season with his first ATP title in Adelaide, defeating Kristof Vliegen in the final. A few months later, he captured his second tour title in Estoril on clay, beating Agustín Calleri. His season was backed up with solid performances on clay in Barcelona and St. Pölten, reaching the quarterfinal and final, respectively. After a solid year, Davydenko finished in the top 50 for the first time in his career. 2004: Breakthrough His progress continued in 2004, capturing two more titles for the second consecutive year. After a slow start to season, a quarterfinal in the Monte Carlo Masters kicked off a 10–2 matches run. A week later, he won his third title in Munich. He backed up his win by reaching the semifinal in Stuttgart, losing to Guillermo Cañas. In October, he captured his first home-soil victory in Moscow by winning both the singles and doubles (partnering Igor Andreev). He finished the season in the top 30 for the first time. 2005–2009: Peak years 2005 In 2005, he began the season by reaching the quarterfinals for the first time in a Grand Slam at the Australian Open. During the clay season, he captured his fifth career title in St. Pölten, beating home favourite, Jürgen Melzer.