With Australian Open champion Marat Safin out injured and 2002 Davis Cup hero Mikhail Youzhny struggling for form, Russia have found a new leader in Nikolay Davydenko.
Davydenko won both his singles matches in the Davis Cup quarterfinals against France at Moscow's Olympic Stadium last weekend to guide Russia into the last four for the first time since 2002.
That year they went on to win the trophy by beating France in the final thanks to an amazing comeback victory by Youzhny. Last weekend the Ukraine-born and Germany-based Davydenko saved the day for his adopted country despite nursing a painful wrist injury.
The world number seven thrashed Paul-Henri Mathieu on opening day to level the best-of-five tie at 1-1, then on Sunday overwhelmed French teenager Richard Gasquet to even the score at 2-2 to set the stage for Igor Andreev to clinch a dramatic 3-2 win.
Unlike the telegenic Safin, Davydenko, who was born in the mining town of Severodonetsk in eastern Ukraine, keeps a low profile.
His rise to prominence, culminating at this year's French Open where he reached his first grand slam semifinal, has been a hard slog.
Solid but unspectacular, Davydenko relies on his shot selection rather than brutal power in winning matches.
Russia Davis Cup captain Shamil Tarpishchev paid tribute to Davydenko's tactical wisdom and ability to read the game to achieve success.
"Davydenko doesn't have Safin's power, (Roger) Federer's finesse nor (Andy) Roddick's serve, so he has to work much harder than those guys for every point," Tarpishchev said.
"It's his brain that sets him apart from the rest."
While some players like to talk about their achievements and future goals, humble Davydenko keeps his thoughts to himself.
Asked if his aim was to become the world number one and win a grand slam title after his showing at Roland Garros, Davydenko said: "Every player dreams of one day winning a grand slam and becoming number one in the world, I'm no different. But my main goal is to keep improving and become a better player."
People who know the soft-spoken 24-year-old say his modesty stems from his childhood. He left home at the age of 10, joining his elder brother Eduard, who later became his coach, in Volgograd.
Then they moved to Germany, settling in the small town of Trir, near the French border, where Eduard got a coaching job.
Davydenko won his first ATP title in January 2003 in Adelaide and repeated his success at the Estoril Open three months later.
That year he also made his Davis Cup debut against the Czech Republic in the World Group first round in Ostrava where he beat Radek Stepanek in the decider to clinch Russia's victory.
With Safin recuperating from knee surgery, Tarpishchev is sure to count on Davydenko to lead Russia once again when they take on Croatia in the Davis Cup semifinals in September.
"You can always count on Nikolay to give 100 percent no matter what," Tarpishchev said. "That's the most any coach can ask of a player."
