David Nalbandian

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David Nalbandian
Tour Finals
W (2005)
Olympic Games3R (2008)
Doubles
Career record48–53
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 105 (5 October 2009)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open1R (2003)
French Open1R (2003)
Wimbledon2R (2003)
Team competitions
Davis CupF (2006, 2008, 2011)
Medal record
Pan American Games
Bronze medal – third place 1999 Winnipeg Singles
Nalbandian signing autographs at the 2006 Australian Open.

David Pablo Nalbandian (Spanish pronunciation:

Masters 1000 tournaments. Nalbandian is the only Argentine man in history to reach the semifinals or better at all four majors and to reach the Wimbledon final.[2]He was a member of the Argentinian Davis Cup team who reached the finals of the World Group in 2006, 2008 and 2011. Nalbandian played right-handed with a two-handed backhand, which was known for being a devastating shot.[3] Since his retirement, Nalbandian has taken up the sport of rally racing and has competed in Rally Argentina
.

Biography

Of Armenian and Italian descent, David Nalbandian was born in the small city of Unquillo in Córdoba Province, Argentina. He became a professional tennis player at the age of 18.[4]

Career on the ATP

Junior career

As a junior, Nalbandian reached as high as No. 3 in the world in December 1998 (and No. 5 in doubles in 2000), soon after winning the US Open boys' singles final over fellow junior Roger Federer.

2000–2002

He turned professional in 2000. In 2001, he finished in the

Wimbledon final, where he beat David Sánchez, Paul-Henri Mathieu, George Bastl, Wayne Arthurs, Nicolás Lapentti and Xavier Malisse before losing to Lleyton Hewitt. [citation needed
]

2003–2004

Nalbandian did not reach another major final in 2003. At Wimbledon he lost to

Madrid Masters,by Carlos Moyá and Marat Safin
respectively. He broke into the top 5 for the first time in his career in August and finished 2004 ranked as the World No. 9 player.

2005

In 2005, Nalbandian advanced to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open. At

Tennis Masters Cup, becoming only the second Argentine tennis player in history (after Guillermo Vilas in 1974) to win the year-end tournament. Having replaced Andy Roddick, he won two of his three group matches (to Federer, Ivan Ljubičić, and Guillermo Coria). In the semifinals, he defeated Russian Nikolay Davydenko, and in the final, he beat World No. 1 Roger Federer in a fifth-set tiebreak after coming from two sets down, with Federer succumbing to a right ankle injury after laboring out the first two sets in tiebreaks.[7]
Nalbandian became the first player to win the cup without previously attaining a Grand Slam or Masters Series title.

2006

In January 2006, Nalbandian beat Fabrice Santoro of France, 7–5, 6–0, 6–0, in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, becoming, at the time, only the second active player (along with Roger Federer) to have reached the semifinals of each Grand Slam tournament. He lost in the semifinals to Marcos Baghdatis in a hard-fought five-set match, despite holding a two-set-to-love advantage and four games to two in the final set. In May, he won the Estoril Open Tournament in Portugal for the second time, being one of only three men to achieve this accomplishment (Carlos Costa, 1992 and 1994; and Thomas Muster, 1995 and 1996). One month later, Nalbandian reached his second French Open semifinal. It was the only time in his career that he reached two Grand Slam semifinals in one calendar year. He played Federer and started strongly, winning the first set 6–3 and going 3–0 up in the second set. At 5–2 down in the third set, Nalbandian decided to retire from the match due to stomach injury. At Wimbledon, Nalbandian was beaten in the third round, where he lost to Fernando Verdasco in straight sets. At the US Open, Nalbandian was beaten in the second round by Marat Safin. [citation needed]

Nalbandian then competed in the

Australia. David easily won against Mark Philippoussis, 6–4, 6–3, 6–3, to give Argentina a 1–0 lead. Argentina went on to win 5–0 to reach the Davis Cup final. Later in the year, Nalbandian reached semifinals at the Masters Series Madrid and the Masters Cup, where he lost to Roger Federer and James Blake, respectively. Despite winning both of his singles rubbers in the Davis Cup final against Safin and Nikolay Davydenko, Nalbandian could not stop the Russian Davis Cup team. Argentina went on to lose 3–2. [citation needed
]

2007

2007 saw Nalbandian drop out of the world's top 20 for the first time since 2003, after losing in the fourth round of the 2007 French Open to Nikolay Davydenko. Nalbandian suffered various abdominal injuries, a back injury, and a leg injury during the year. He fell to no. 26 in the world until his season changed after winning the

Bob and Mike Bryan in the semifinals. After the tournament, his singles ranking moved up from no. 25 on the tour to No. 18. Nalbandian was the only player ever to defeat all 3 members of the big three
at the same tournament.

He played at the

ATP Masters Series title over Rafael Nadal, 6–4, 6–0, thus, becoming the first player to win the Madrid and Paris Masters back to back since former world no. 1, Marat Safin in 2004. This win allowed him to move back into the world's top 10 at No. 9. After the Paris Masters, Nalbandian became the first player to defeat No. 1 and No. 2 players in consecutive tournaments and win them. [citation needed
]

2008

David Nalbandian attempting to defend his title at the 2008 BNP Paribas Masters

Nalbandian began his 2008 season back in the top 10. However, at the Australian Open, he failed to reach the quarterfinals, suffering a 6–1, 6–2, 6–3, loss to the 22nd seed

Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco, Mexico and cruised all the way to the finals, along the way defeating Boris Pašanski, Santiago Ventura, Potito Starace, and Luis Horna, beating them all in straight sets, but then lost in the final, to Spaniard Nicolás Almagro, 1–6, 6–7. [citation needed
]

He entered his first ATP Masters Series tournament of the year at the

2008 Rome Masters, he fell in his opening match to Almagro, 4–6, 5–7. [citation needed
]

At the French Open, Nalbandian suffered a shock loss in the second round to Frenchman

Madrid Masters but was quickly eliminated by fellow Argentine Juan Martín del Potro in the third round. He then entered both the Davidoff Swiss Indoors and the BNP Paribas Masters, where he was once again the defending champion. He did not win either of these tournaments but found himself in the finals of both. [citation needed
]

To end the year, he participated in the 2008 Davis Cup and was up on an opening match against David Ferrer. Despite a victory, he ended up on the losing team against Spain in the Davis Cup finals in Argentina (The Argentine team lost 1–3). He made some offensive comments in the press against Spain, the Spanish tennis team, and Rafael Nadal.[citation needed] It was rumoured that he and Agustín Calleri were involved in a fight after they lost their doubles rubber. Nalbandian denied this.[8] He was fined $10,000 for leaving the stadium after his and Calleri's defeat in doubles to Spaniards Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano López, and for his refusal to appear at a subsequent press conference to comment on the Argentine team's setback. [citation needed]

2009

Nalbandian started his 2009 tour by winning his tenth career ATP title at the

Lu Yen-Hsun, 4–6, 7–5, 6–4, 4–6, 2–6, in the second round. At the 2009 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, he lost to World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, 6–3, 6–7, 0–6, in the fourth round for the first time, failing to convert on five match points in the second set. In May, he announced that he would have to undergo hip surgery, resulting in not being able to compete in the remaining Grand Slams and the Davis Cup. In August, he announced that he would return to practice and eventually to competitive tennis at the Australian Open in January. A few days before the beginning of the tournament, he was forced to withdraw from the event due to an abdominal injury. [citation needed
]

2010

Because of several knee injuries in the early part of the 2010 season, he finally made a return, beginning at the

Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6–7, 6–4, 7–6. However, he pulled out of his quarterfinals match against fifth seed Albert Montañés due to a right leg injury. He made a return to tennis by playing doubles for Argentina in the Davis Cup against Sweden in Stockholm, which he won in straight sets. He played the deciding singles rubber, defeating Vinciguerra 7–5, 6–3, 4–6, 6–4, and helped Argentina reach the quarterfinals. [citation needed
]

Playing in his first Masters Series event since Monte Carlo the previous year, he appeared at the

2010 Roland Garros and the 2010 Wimbledon Championships. [citation needed
]

In July, he played two singles matches for Argentina against Russia in the Davis Cup at the Olympic Stadium in Moscow. He defeated

Stanislas Wawrinka, 6–3, 6–1, Marco Chiudinelli, 6–1, 6–0, Gilles Simon, 3–6, 6–2, 6–3, and Marin Čilić, 6–2, 6–2. He defeated Marcos Baghdatis in the finals, 6–2, 7–6, guaranteeing a jump in the rankings up to the vicinity of world no. 45.[9] The following week, he had a successful run to the quarterfinals in the Roger's Masters Series in Toronto, defeating David Ferrer, Tommy Robredo, and Robin Söderling, before losing to World No. 4 Andy Murray after this 11-match winning streak. This run took his rank up to world No. 37. He competed at the 2010 BNP Paribas Masters, where he lost again to Murray, 6–2, 4–6, 3–6, in the second round. [citation needed
]

In November he was granted the Platinum Konex Award as the best tennis player of the last decade in Argentina.

2011

David Nalbandian at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships

Nalbandian began the year ranked No. 27 in the world. As sixth seed in the Auckland Open, Nalbandian beat

Movistar Open
.

He began his tour on clay by beating his compatriot Carlos Berlocq, before losing against Horacio Zeballos. In Buenos Aires, he lost in the quarterfinals to Tommy Robredo. He played a Davis Cup match, winning in four sets against Romanian Adrian Ungur. Due to a torn hamstring and a hernia, he missed many tournaments including Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome Masters. He lost to Roger Federer in the third round of Wimbledon. [citation needed]

2012

In the Australian Open, Nalbandian had a five-set loss to Isner and was fined $8,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct following the match.

ATP Masters 1000 tournament of the year, the 2012 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, losing in the quarterfinals to Rafael Nadal.[13] After the tournament, Nalbandian reached No. 40 in the ATP rankings but failed to progress past the first round in the 2012 French Open as he was beaten by the Romanian, Adrian Ungur
in four sets.

Queen's Club Championships incident

In June, Nalbandian reached the final of the Aegon Championships at the Queen's Club in England for the first time. He led his opponent Marin Čilić by a set but, having been broken to trail 3–4 in the second, was disqualified when he violently kicked a wooden partition in front of a seated line judge, injuring the linesman and drawing blood from his shin. [14]

The kick was broadcast live on the BBC television coverage of the event, and a clip showing the incident was widely viewed on YouTube.[15] A complaint alleging assault was made to the Metropolitan Police, who commenced investigations.[16] An ATP spokesman stated that:

Nalbandian automatically forfeited his prize money and ranking points due to his conduct default. A maximum £8,000 (10,000 euro) fine was issued on site by the ATP Supervisor for unsportsmanlike conduct.[16]

In forfeiting his potential prize money of £36,114[15] [$57,350] plus the £8,000 [$12,560] conduct fine, he incurred a total loss over the weekend of £44,114 [$69,910].[14] He was additionally docked 150 ranking points by the ATP.[17]

Nalbandian was unseeded at the

Wimbledon championships, which followed soon after, and was defeated in straight sets by Janko Tipsarević in the first round. He lost again to Tipsarević in the first round at the London Olympics
.

US Open withdrawal

Nalbandian withdrew from the 2012 US Open due to a strained muscle in his chest, one day before his scheduled first-round match against compatriot and 2009 champion Juan Martín del Potro.[18]

2013

He played the last final of his career at the 2013 Brasil Open, where he lost to Rafael Nadal. After the quarterfinal win over France in the Davis Cup, where he played doubles, he was forced to undergo an operation on his right shoulder, sidelining him for much of the 2013 season.[19] On 1 October, he announced his retirement.

After tennis

Nalbandian has sought to continue a sporting career and has taken up Rallying in the Argentine Rally Championship.[20] Since then his career has progressed to appearances in the Codasur South American Rally Championship and one appearance in the World Rally Championship. Mostly he races an Argentine specification Chevrolet Agile.[21][22]

In February 2021, he has been hired as a coach by Miomir Kecmanović.

Playing style

Nalbandian was an all-court player and a clean ball-striker, hitting powerfully struck groundstrokes.[23] He had a decent, but not particularly dominating service game compared to top 20 players. His signature play was the wide drive that swings out of court on both sides, low and spinning. He could take high balls on the backhand and forehand side and return them with acute angles and low trajectories and used these skills with great tactical intelligence.[24]

His ground game was complemented by his anticipation, speed and ability to end points at the net. Nalbandian's trademark shot is his double-handed backhand down-the-line, which was often regarded as one of the best double-handed backhands on the men's tour. He often used it to set up a point, by either hitting a clean winner or forcing a weak return from the opponent. Nalbandian is also known to be one of the game's best returners. He was consistently able to knock balls back deep on the baseline to effectively set up the point or hit return winners off second serves, but he also had the ability to block it back deep when returning a more effective serve. He also used a "chip-and-charge" technique against the opponents' serves to surprise them.[25]

Early in his career, Nalbandian was considered one of the most talented young players on tour, and touted as a future star of the game, alongside the likes of Roger Federer, Marat Safin and Andy Roddick. Early in his career, he was cited as a rival of Federer, having beaten him five times consecutively between 2002 and 2003. However, injuries, lack of consistency, and poor mental temperament have been cited as his biggest weaknesses that prevented him from achieving his full potential. Nalbandian has been considered by some commentators as one of the biggest underachievers in the game.[26]

Career statistics

Main article: David Nalbandian career statistics
Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Grand Slam performance timeline

Tournament 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 SR W–L Win %
Australian Open A 2R QF QF QF SF 4R 3R 2R A 2R 2R A 0 / 10 26–10 72.22%
French Open Q1 3R 2R SF 4R SF 4R 2R A A A 1R A 0 / 8 20–8 71.43%
Wimbledon
 A F 4R A QF 3R 3R 1R A A 3R 1R A 0 / 8 19–8 70.37%
US Open 3R 1R SF 2R QF 2R 3R 3R A 3R 3R A A 0 / 10 21–10 67.74%
Win–loss 2–1 9–4 13–4 10–3 15–4 13–4 10–4 5–4 1–1 2–1 5–3 1–3 0–0 0 / 36 86–36 70.49%

Finals: 1 (1 runner-up)

Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Loss 2002
Wimbledon
 Grass Australia Lleyton Hewitt 1–6, 3–6, 2–6

Year-end championship performance timeline

Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 SR W–L Win %
ATP World Tour Finals
 Did not qualify RR A W SF Did not qualify 1 / 3 6–6 50.00%

Year–end Championship finals: 1 (1 title)

Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Win 2005
Tennis Masters Cup
 Carpet (i) Switzerland Roger Federer 6–7(4–7), 6–7(11–13), 6–2, 6–1, 7–6(7–3)

References

  1. ATP World Tour
    .
  2. ^ "David Nalbandian".
  3. ^ "The Talented Mr. Nalbandian". tennis.com. 1 October 2013. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  4. ^ "David Nalbandian: I really enjoy being back on the court" Archived 17 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine, The Armenian Reporter, 30 August 2010.
  5. ISBN 1-903135-29-X
    .
  6. ^ Cheese, Caroline (25 June 2005). "Brave Murray falls to Nalbandian". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 14 November 2006.
  7. ^ "Roger Federer beaten by David Nalbandian at Tennis Masters Cup". En.espn.co.uk. 1 November 2013. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  8. ^ "Nalbandian denies Davis Cup row". BBC News. 24 November 2008.
  9. ^ "Nalbandian beats Baghdatis in Washington final". BBC Sport. 8 August 2010. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
  10. ^ Rothenberg, Ben, "Nalbandian Is Fined Following Overrule Controversy" Archived 23 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine, New York Times Straight Sets blog, 20 January 2012; retrieved 10 February 2012.
  11. ^ Misery for Germany as Argentina dominate, DavisCup.com; retrieved 20 March 2012.
  12. ^ Doubles delight as Argentina seals victory, DavisCup.com; retrieved 20 March 2012.
  13. ^ Nadal Sets SF Showdown With Federer, ATPWorldTour.com; retrieved 20 March 2012.
  14. ^ a b Matt Brooks, "Nalbandian kicked out of Queen's Club final for injuring line judge", Washington Post, 18 June 2012; accessed 19 June 2012.
  15. ^ a b Simon Cambers, "David Nalbandian's kick to be investigated by the police and ATP",The Guardian, 18 June 2012; accessed 18 June 2012.
  16. ^ a b UKPA (United Kingdom Press Association), "Nalbandian fined £8,000 over kick," 18 June 2012; accessed 19 June 2012.
  17. ^ Tim Lewis, "David Nalbandian's anger management works...almost", Guardian, 25 June 2012; accessed 27 June 2012.
  18. ^ David Nalbandian pulls out of U.S. Open, sportsillustrated.cnn.com; accessed 7 June 2014.
  19. ^ "Nalbandian undergoes shoulder operation", DavisCup.com, 3 May 2013.
  20. ^ "David Nalbandian turns into a rally racer". Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  21. ^ "David Nalbandian - rally profile". Ewrc-results.com. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  22. ^ "Former tennis star David Nalbandian flips rally car in spectacular crash". Abc.net.au. 8 November 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  23. ^ "US Open (tennis)". Archived from the original on 24 June 2012. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
  24. ^ Does David Nalbandian have the key to beating Rafael Nadal?", bleacherreport.com; accessed 7 June 2014.
  25. ^ "The secret of David Nalbandian's indoor brilliance" Archived 11 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine, sportingo.com; accessed 7 June 2014.
  26. ^ "Who are the Biggest Wasted Talents in Tennis?". Retrieved 4 December 2016.

External links

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