Don't put your shirt on Davydenko

MELBOURNE, Jan 20 (Reuters) World number three Nikolay Davydenko's search for a clothing sponsor shows no sign of ending despite interest from a Chinese company.

The Russian wore a plain red top provided by his racket sponsor in his Australian Open third-round victory over Fabrice Santoro today in stark contrast to the logo-laden kits worn by the likes of Chilean world number nine Fernando Gonzalez.

Davydenko was asked at a news conference if any deals were imminent following reports at last year's Masters Cup in Shanghai that a Chinese company was interested.

''At the moment, no,'' the 25-year-old said. ''I will be starting a contract from this year but not with Chinese.'' Davydenko, who reached the U.S. Open semi-finals last year usually wearing a plain shirt, is the only player in the world's top 10 without a clothing sponsor.

REUTERS SAM HT1640