Nikolay Davydenko, scourge of the progressives, the man they cannot market, the player with one properly strung racket in his bag who is in the midst of the longest match-fixing investigation in the sport’s history, won the event of his life yesterday and showed the proverbial two fingers to those who have left him to dangle in a state of suspended suspicion for far too long.

We were treated by the end of Davydenko’s rousing 6-4, 6-2 victory over Rafael Nadal in the final of the Sony Ericsson Open to a crowd of Hispanic hue captivated by his efforts. The Russian made Nadal look so ordinary as to render this one of the more remarkable Masters outcomes in recent memory.

Since last August, when a match in Sopot, Poland, against Martin Vassallo Argüello, of Argentina, provoked such trends that it caused an unprecedented voiding of all payouts by Betfair, the betting company, Davydenko has contended with doubts as to his integrity. It is a tribute to the 26-year-old Russian that he has continued to play on and play strong.

He might have lost in the second round here when Simone Bolelli, of Italy, had two forehand sitters that would have presented him with the chance to serve for the match, but he missed them both and such gifts were a distant memory as, in blistering succession, Davydenko defeated Andy Roddick in the semi-finals in straight sets and, yesterday, savaged the world No 2.

A wobble in the middle of the first set apart, when he struggled with serving into an unyielding sun, Davydenko was assured and confident, striking the ball off both flanks and at such devastating angles that Nadal simply could not get enough depth on his shots to impose himself.

Politics and Davydenko are inevitably entwined and what both yesterday’s finalists have in common is that they are signatories to a letter that has been sent to the player representatives on the ATP board demanding its performers have a greater say when judgments are taken on the sport’s future.

“We request that our voice be heard,” the top 20 players say. “As you have been elected by us, the players, it’s important that we are part of the discussions over the future of Etienne de Villiers [the chairman and president of the ATP]. We request that other potential candidates are identified, interviewed and assessed prior to any vote being taken. We want a transparent process.”

Davydenko’s fellow professionals do not like the way he has been left in his seven-month limbo, having to express his innocence while the process grinds on. His victory yesterday ought to be the moment when the decision comes down because tennis is continuing to suffer and the first Russian to win here has suffered most of all.