Mikhail Youzhny in 2006
See also: Youzhny in 2008, Mikhail Youzhny's Biography, Mikhail Youzhny in 2007 and Mikhail Youzhny's in 2005
December 2006: Mikhail Youzhny was expected to play in the doubles for Russia in the Davis Cup final against Australia, however, injury precluded him in the end. Marat Safin stepped in to partner Dmitry Tursunov and they beat David Nalbandian and Agustin Calleri 6-2 6-3 6-3.
November 2006: In spite of his ankle injury, Mikhail Youzhny has been included in the Russia squad for the Davis Cup final. Russian captain Shamil Tarpischev said that if Youzhny regains his fitness he will play.
October 2006: Mikhail Youzhny will miss Russia's Davis Cup final against Argentina with an ankle injury.
September 2006: Mikhail Youzhny's impressive run of form continued as he beat world number 9, James Blake 7-5 1-6 6-1 7-5 in the Davis Cup semi-final contest between Russia and the USA.
Although Mikhail Youzhny and Dmitry Tursunov lost in the doubles, Tursunov's victory over Roddick ensured that Russia beat America and qualified to face Argentina in the 2006 Davis Cup Final.
9 September 2006: Mikhail Youzhny succumbed to Andy Roddick 6-7 (5-7) 6-0 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 in the semi-final of the US Open. The match followed the same pattern as their last two meetings with Mikhail Youzhny going a set up only for Roddick to win in the end. Youzhny played superbly to take the first set but Roddick took the second set in just 22 minutes. The third set was more competitive and went to tie-break but Roddick won and he went on to take the fourth set as well and book a place against Roger Federer in the final.
7 September 2006: Mikhail Youzhny is in stunning form at the US Open. Playing in his first-ever Grand Slam quarter-final, Mikhail Youzhny beat second seed Rafael Nadal 6-3 5-7 7-6 (7-5) 6-1. After the match Nadal said: "Youzhny was playing unbelievable tennis."
Youzhny has previously beaten other Spanish seeds at this year's US Open - Tommy Robredo (6) and David Ferrer (11). Additionally Youzhny had a tough opener in 19th seed Dominik Hrbaty.
Mikhail Youzhny plays Andy Roddick in the semi-final of the US Open.
10 August 2006: Mikhail Youzhny lost to 13th seed Tomas Berdych 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 in the second round of the Toronto Masters. In the first round, Youzhny had defeated Greg Rusedski.
31 July 2006: Mikhail Youzhny lost in the semi-final of the Kitzbuhel Open in Austria. He was beaten 6-2 4-6 6-4 by Argentinian Juan Ignacio Chela. It was overall a good tournament for Youzhny.
30 June 2006: It appears that Mikhail Youzhny was unlucky to have been eliminated from Wimbledon in the third round. Youzhny took the first set against Novak Djokovic but then he had to call for his trainer to get treatment for his left thigh. Djokovic went on to win 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-3.
25 June 2006: Youzhny won the final of the Boodles challenge beating Jamie Baker 6-2, 6-0. Baker was a stand-in for Mardy Fish.
22 June 2006: Mikhail Youzhny reached the final of a strange event called The Boodles Challenge, defeating Andre Agassi 6-3, 7-6 (7-2).
Mikhail Youzhny commented:
"I feel like I'm in good shape for Wimbledon."
Just like 2005, 2006 started out in slightly disappointing fashion for Mikhail Youzhny, however he was back on form in an event that has traditionally inspired him - The Davis Cup.
In Amsterdam, he and Igor Andreev beat Raemon Sluiter and John Van Lottum 6-2 3-6 6-4 6-4.
According to the official Davis Cup site:
"Youzhny was playing particularly well, playfully combining power and finesse to humiliate his opponents at some points. In the last game of the match, he served a 200 kph ace on his second serve for a match point, then finished it off with another ace. “I just decided to go for it,” Youzhny said.
"The 23-year-old was happy to play again, after a series of injuries had troubled him for several months last year. “I played without pain today, which is nice for a change. And the level today was good, but I can't read too much into that. This is doubles and doubles is easy because you have only half a court to cover. I want to get back to the Top 20, but everyone tells me to take time to recover my usual level. Otherwise I may hurt my back again.”"