David Nalbandian - Argentine Tennis Star

Tennis career

David Nalbandian began playing tennis at age five when his grandfather built a cement court in his backyard, that's why he particularly likes fast surfaces, unlike other Argentinian players, who prefer clay courts. Once in a TV show, when asked about his success at Wimbledon 2002, he joked and "explained" his run-up had been due to grass growing on the court his grandfather had once built. As a junior player, he won the 1998 Junior US Open singles against Roger Federer and the 1999 Junior Wimbledon doubles titles.

2000 - 2002

He turned professional in 2000. In 2001, he finished in the ATP top 50 for the first time. He finished 2002 as No. 1 Argentine and South American for the first time in his career, winning two ATP titles and reaching the Wimbledon final, where he lost to Lleyton Hewitt. His run to the 2002 Wimbledon final is remarkable, considering that it was his first ever pro tournament on grass.

2003 - 2004

David Nalbandian wasn't able to return to the Wimbledon Championship in 2003, as he was knocked out in the Round of 16 to hometown favorite Tim Henman. He did however make an impressive run at the U.S. Open, taking out both of the Wimbledon finalists Mark Philippoussis, and Roger Federer along the way to a semifinal matchup with Andy Roddick, it was the second time in less then a month that he would meet Roddick in high stakes match, having lost to him in the final of Rogers Cup a few weeks earlier, Nalbandian took a two sets to love lead, and held match points in the third, there were several controversial calls that didn't go his way, he would eventually lose the match 6–7, 3–6, 7–6, 6–1, 6–3, Roddick went on to win the championships. He finished 2003 ranked No.8 in the world.

In 2004, Nalbandian made his best effort at the French Open reaching the semifinals, again he lost to the eventual champion Gaston Gaudio. He finished 2004 ranked No. 9 in the world, despite breaking into the top 5 for the first time in his career in July.

2005

In 2005, David Nalbandian advanced to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open, more importantly he won the Tennis Masters Cup, becoming only the second Argentine tennis player in history (after Guillermo Vilas in 1974) to win the end of year tournament. Having replaced American Andy Roddick, Nalbandian won two of his three group matches (l. to Roger Federer, d. Ivan Ljubicic and Guillermo Coria). In the semi-finals he defeated Russian Nikolay Davydenko and in the final, he beat World No. 1 Roger Federer in the fifth-set tiebreak. David also becomes the first player to win the cup without previously attaining a Grand Slam or Masters Series title.

2006

In January 2006, David Nalbandian defeated Fabrice Santoro of France 7–5 6–0 6–0 in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, becoming only the second active player (along with Roger Federer) to have reached the semi-finals of each Grand Slam tournament. He would lose the semifinals to Marcos Baghdatis in a hard fought five set match, despite holding a two-set-to-love advantage and then 4 games to 2 in the final set. In May Nalbandian won the Estoril Open Tournament in Portugal for the second time, being one of three only 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 semi-final. It was the first time in his career that he reached two Grand Slam semi-finals in one calendar year. He played Roger Federer and started very well, taking 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, since he was suffering from abdominal injuries. At Wimbledon, David Nalbandian was beaten in the third round - it was the first time he didn't reach the last 16. At the US Open, Nalbandian was beaten in the second round against former Grand Slam champion Marat Safin.

David Nalbandian then competed in the Davis Cup Semi Final against Australia. David easily defeated Mark Philippoussis 6–4 6–3 6–3 to give Argentina a 1–0 lead. Nalbandian felt as if the crowd didn't get totally fired up because he was cruising through the match. When the draw for the Davis Cup semifinal was being made with Argentina vs. Australia, Nalbandian shook hands with Australian Mark Philippoussis and asked him to join the party on Saturday night, implying that Argentina would beat Australia 3–0 on Saturday. Nalbandian was indeed correct, and Argentina went on to thrash Australia 5–0. Nalbandian said the only thing he was disappointed that he didn't have the opportunity to beat Lleyton Hewitt, whom he thrashed in the Davis Cup quarterfinal in 2005 6–2 6–4 6–4 in Australia (Nalbandian's record against Hewitt is 1–3). Prior to the Davis Cup semifinal, David Nalbandian said, "We beat them in Australia, and we're going to beat them again." Argentina went on to humiliate Australia, thrashing them 5–0. David Nalbandian also fired up the clash with Australia by saying that Hewitt has no friends on the ATP Tour.

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2007 has seen David Nalbandian drop out of the world's top twenty 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 which is the reason for his form lapse.

He fell to No. 26 in the world until his season changed when after winning the 2007 Madrid Masters. He won the tournament by defeating Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Federer in consecutive rounds, becoming the third player after Boris Becker and Đoković to defeat the world's top three players in a single tournament. He defeated Nadal, 6–1, 6–2, in the quarterfinals. His good form carried him to his second top three win of the tournament, defeating Djoković in the semifinals. He then stunned Federer in the final, winning 1–6, 6–3, 6–3.

He also reached the doubles semifinals with Guillermo Canas in the tournament before losing to top-seeded Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan in the semifinals. After the tournament, his singles ranking moved up from No. 25 on the tour to No. 18, losing in the first round of his next tournament.

David Nalbandian played at the 2007 Paris Masters and again defeated Federer in the third round 6–4, 7–6 (7–3). He then beat David Ferrer in the quarterfinals in a closely fought match, winning 7–6 (7–3), 6–7 (3–7), 6–2. After beating Richard Gasquet 6–2, 6–4 in the semifinals, Nalbandian won his second straight ATP Masters Series title over Nadal, 6–4 6–0, thus, becoming the first player to win Madrid and Paris Masters back-to-back since former World No. 1 Marat Safin in 2004. This win allowed Nalbandian to move back into the top ten at No. 9.

2008

David Nalbandian began 2008 back in the top ten, however for the seventh straight time he failed to make the Quarterfinals of a slam, suffering a 6–1, 6–2, 6–3, 3rd round loss to the No. 22 seed Juan Carlos Ferrero. On February 24,2008 Nalbandian was able to win the Copa Telmex on his own home soil in Buenos Aires. He beat fellow compatriot Jose Acasuso 3–6 7–6(7–5) 6–4. With that win he was able to move to the number 8 ATP rank.

The following week, David Nalbandian arrived at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco, Mexico. David Nalbandian defeated Boris Pašanski, Santiago Ventura, Potito Starace, and Luis Horna all in straight sets, but then lost in the final to Nicolas Almagro, 6–1, 7–6 (1).

Nalbandian entered the 2008 Pacific Life Open, and received a "bye" in the first round because of his seventh seeding. In the second round, he defeated Ernests Gulbis 6–4, 4–6, 7–6 (4), and then came back to beat Radek Stepanek, 7–6 (1), 0–6, 7–6 (6). In the fourth round, he avenged Juan Carlos Ferrero for his Australian Open loss 6–2 6–2.

He lost in the quarterfinals against Mardy Fish, 3–6, 7–6 (5), 6–7 (4), in a very tough match. He teamed up with Guillermo Canas in doubles, but lost a close match in the second round. He then lost at the 2008 Monte Carlo Masters to eventual finalist Roger Federer 5-7, 6-2, 6-2. In Barcelona, he was the third seed, but was eliminated by Stanislas Wawrinka in the third round. At the 2008 Rome Masters, he fell in his debut to Nicolas Almagro 6-4, 7-5.

At the French Open, David Nalbandian suffered a shock loss in the second round to Frenchman Jeremy Chardy. After being two sets up and seemingly in control, he lost the next three to hand Chardy the win; 3-6 4-6 6-2 6-1 6-2. After the French Open, when the clay season ends, Nalbandian is to make his debut at the grass courts of Queen's Club Championships, in order to prepare the warm-up for Wimbledon.

After being two sets up and seemingly in control, he lost the next three to hand Chardy the win, losing 3–6, 4–6, 6–2, 6–1, 6–2. He would also suffer early exits from both Wimbledon and the US Open, losing in the second round and third round, respectively. His indoor season however, was a success as he won his 9th career title at the 2008 Stockholm Open, defeating Robin Soderling 6–2, 5–7, 6–3, in the finals. He was defending champion at the Madrid Masters, but was quickly eliminated by fellow Argentine Juan Martin 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 any of these 2 tournaments but found himself in the finals of both. 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 then made numerous offensive comments in the press against Spain, the Spanish tennis team and its top star Rafael Nadal. It was rumoured. that he and fellow friend Agustín Calleri where involved in a fight after their doubles rubber was lost. Nalbandian strenuously denied this. Nevertheless, he was fined $10,000 for leaving the stadium after his and Calleri's defeat in doubles to the Spaniards Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez and his refusal to appear at a subsequent press conference to comment on the Argentine team's setback.

2009

Nalbandian started his 2009 tour by winning his tenth career ATP title at the Medibank International in Sydney, Australia after defeating Finland's Jarkko Nieminen 6–3, 6–7(9), 6–2 in the final. At the Australian Open, he defeated Marc Gicquel in the first round, 6–1, 4–6, 6–2, 6–3, before being upset by unseeded Taiwanese player 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, Nalbandian lost to World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, 6–3, 6–7(5), 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 a 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.

2010

Because of injuries in the early part of the 2010 season, he finally made a return, beginning at the 2010 Copa Telmex, his hometown tournament. He beat Potito Starace in the first round 6–2, 7–6(2) which took over a period of two days due to a rain delay. In round two, he beat Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6–7(5), 6–4, 7–6(7). 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 Argentine in Davis Cup against Sweden in Stockholm, which he won in straight sets. He also played the deciding single rubber defeating Vinciguerra 7–5, 6–3, 4–6, 6–4 and thus helped Argentina reach the quarterfinals.

Playing in his first Masters Series event since Monte Carlo last year, he appeared at the first Master Series event for the season, at the 2010 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. There, he won his first round match against Stefan Koubek 6–2, 7–6(2). In his next round match, he played 22nd seed Jürgen Melzer but lost 4–6, 1–6.

He then entered the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, as a wildcard entrant. He beat Łukasz Kubot 6–3, 6–2 and no.30 seed Viktor Troicki 6–3, 4–6, 6–4 before falling to the No. 4 seed Rafael Nadal in three sets, 6–7, 6–2, 6–2.

Nalbandian entered the 2010 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters in Monaco, ranked 151 in the world, beating Andreas Beck in straight sets before coming through 3–6, 6–4, 7–6(5) against world number 13 Mikhail Youzhnyof Russia in the second round. Nalbandian beat Novak Djokovic before losing in the quarterfinals to the second-ranked Novak Djokovic 6–2, 6–3.

Nalbandian withdrew from the 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia with a right leg injury. The injury persisted, and David Nalbandian withdrew from both the 2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open and 2010 Roland Garros tournament, meaning that he will have to wait until the 2010 Wimbledon Championships to play his first Grand Slam of the season.

Playing Style

David Nalbandian employs a very aggressive baseline game, although he is capable of playing an all-court style. His main strengths lie in his groundstrokes and return of serve game, and are complemented by his deft accuracy and incredible foot speed. His groundstrokes are technically sound and solid from both wings, and because of their depth, pace, and consistency, opponents often have difficulty breaking down one particular side. Nalbandian's trademark shot is his two-handed backhand down the line, which he often uses to set up point, by either hitting a clean winner, or forcing a weak return from the opponent. David Nalbandian is also a sound volleyer, and if a situation calls for more aggressive play, he is often willing to finish points at the net. Nalbandian's serve is not one of his strengths, however it is reliable, accurate and efficient.

Distinctions

• He is one of only three active players to have achieved the semifinals or better at all four Grand Slams, along with Roger Federer and Novak Đoković.
• David Nalbandian became the third man to beat the world's top three players in the same tournament. The other two men are Boris Becker and Novak Djokovic.
• Nalbandian is the third man to beat both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal since they assumed the #1 and #2 positions; the other two men being Tomas Berdych and Novak Djokovic. He managed to do this feat in two consecutive events in Madrid and Paris.

Miscellaneous

• David Nalbandian is sponsored by Yonex. His racquet of choice is the Yonex RDS 001, and also wears both Yonex clothing and shoes.
• Nalbandian keeps a good relationship with all Argentine players, especially Agustín Calleri.
• David Nalbandian is a fan of the Club Atlético River Plate football team and has his own rally team called Tango Rally with Marcos Ligato as the main driver.
• Nalbandian is of mixed Armenian and Italian descent.