 Nalbandian at Boodles 2011. | |
| Full name | David Pablo Nalbandian |
|---|---|
| Country (sports) |  Argentina |
| Residence | Unquillo, Argentina |
| Born | (1982-01-01)1 January 1982 (age 43) Unquillo, Argentina |
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1] |
| Turned pro | 2000 |
| Retired | 2013 |
| Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
| Prize money | US$11,114,755 |
| Official website | davidnalbandian.com |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 383–192 (66.6%) |
| Career titles | 11 |
| Highest ranking | No. 3 (20 March 2006) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | SF (2006) |
| French Open | SF (2004,2006) |
| Wimbledon | F (2002) |
| US Open | SF (2003) |
| Other tournaments | |
| Tour Finals | W (2005) |
| Olympic Games | 3R (2008) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 48–53 |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 105 (5 October 2009) |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Australian Open | 1R (2003) |
| French Open | 1R (2003) |
| Wimbledon | 2R (2003) |
| Team competitions | |
| Davis Cup | F (2006,2008,2011) |
Medal record | |
David Pablo Nalbandian (Spanish pronunciation:[daˈβiðˈpaβlonalβanˈdjan]; born 1 January 1982) is an Argentine former professionaltennis player. He reached his highest ranking in singles of world No. 3 in March 2006, during a career that spanned from 2000 to 2013. Nalbandian was runner-up in the singles event at the2002 Wimbledon Championships. During his career, he won 11 singles titles, including theTennis Masters Cup in 2005 and twoMasters 1000 tournaments. Nalbandian is the only Argentine man in history to reach the semifinals or better at all fourmajors and to reach the Wimbledon final.[2] He was a member of theArgentinian 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, regarded at the time to be one of the best on tour. Nalbandian was considered one of the greatest players to have never won a Grand Slam title.[3] Since his retirement, Nalbandian has taken up the sport of rally racing and has competed inRally Argentina.
OfArmenian andItalian descent, David Nalbandian was born in the small city ofUnquillo inCórdoba Province, Argentina. He became a professional tennis player at the age of 18.[4]
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 juniorRoger Federer.
He turned professional in 2000. In 2001, he finished in theATP top 50 for the first time. He finished 2002 as the No. 1 Argentine and South American for the first time in his career, winning twoATP titles and reaching theWimbledon final, where he beatDavid Sánchez,Paul-Henri Mathieu,George Bastl,Wayne Arthurs,Nicolás Lapentti andXavier Malisse before losing toLleyton Hewitt.[citation needed]
Nalbandian did not reach another major final in 2003. At Wimbledon he lost toTim Henman, following a stomach injury during his previous match againstKarol Kucera.[5] In 2004, Nalbandian achieved his best result at the French Open reaching the semifinals, losing to eventual championGastón Gaudio. Although he did not win any titles in 2004, he did finish runner-up at both theRome Masters and theMadrid Masters, byCarlos Moyá andMarat 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.
In 2005, Nalbandian advanced to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open. AtWimbledon, Nalbandian came from two sets down to defeatAndy Murray in the third round, in what was Murray's first Major tournament. He wound up being the only player to ever defeat Murray from two sets down.[6] He also won theTennis Masters Cup, becoming only the second Argentine tennis player in history (afterGuillermo Vilas in 1974) to win the year-end tournament. Having replacedAndy Roddick, he won two of his three group matches (to Federer,Ivan Ljubičić, andGuillermo Coria). In the semifinals, he defeated RussianNikolay Davydenko, and in the final, he beat World No. 1Roger 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.
In January 2006, Nalbandian beatFabrice Santoro 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 toMarcos 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 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 toFernando Verdasco in straight sets. At the US Open, Nalbandian was beaten in the second round byMarat Safin.[8]
Nalbandian then competed in theDavis Cup semifinal tie againstAustralia. David easily won againstMark Philippoussis 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 toRoger Federer andJames Blake, respectively. Despite winning both of his singles rubbers in the Davis Cup final against Safin andNikolay Davydenko, Nalbandian could not stop the Russian Davis Cup team. Argentina went on to lose 3–2.[citation needed]
2007 saw Nalbandian drop out of the world's top 20 for the first time since 2003, after losing in the fourth round of the2007 French Open toNikolay 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 the2007 Madrid Masters. He won the tournament by defeating second seedRafael Nadal, third seedNovak Djokovic, and top seed Federer in consecutive rounds, becoming the third player afterBoris Becker and Djoković to defeat the world's top three players in a single tournament. He defeated Nadal in the quarterfinals. His good form carried him to his second top-3 win of the tournament, defeating Djoković in the semifinals. He stunned Federer in the final and reached the doubles semifinals withGuillermo Cañas in the tournament, before losing to top-seeded brothersBob 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 thebig three at the same tournament.
He played at the2007 Paris Masters and again defeated Federer, in the third round. He beatDavid Ferrer in the quarterfinals in a closely fought match. After beatingRichard Gasquet in the semifinals, Nalbandian won his second straightATP Masters Series title overRafael Nadal, 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]
Nalbandian began his 2008 season back in the top 10. However, at the Australian Open, he failed to reach the quarterfinals, suffering a straight sets loss to the 22nd seedJuan Carlos Ferrero in the third round. On 24 February 2008, he won the Copa Telmex in Buenos Aires, beatingJosé Acasuso in the final. With that win, he moved to World No. 8. The following week, He arrived at theAbierto Mexicano Telcel inAcapulco, Mexico and cruised all the way to the finals, along the way defeatingBoris Pašanski,Santiago Ventura,Potito Starace, andLuis Horna, beating them all in straight sets, but then lost in the final, to SpaniardNicolás Almagro.[8]
He entered his first ATP Masters Series tournament of the year at the2008 Pacific Life Open, and defeatedErnests Gulbis,Radek Štěpánek andJuan Carlos Ferrero, to whom he lost earlier in the year at the Australian Open. He lost, however, in the quarterfinals againstMardy Fish in a very close match. He lost at theMonte Carlo Masters to eventual finalist Federer. In Barcelona, he was the third seed but was eliminated byStanislas Wawrinka in the third round. At the2008 Rome Masters, he fell in his opening match to Almagro.[8]
At the French Open, Nalbandian suffered a shock loss in the second round to FrenchmanJérémy Chardy. After being two sets up and seemingly in control, he lost the next three to hand Chardy the win. He also suffered early exits from bothWimbledon and theUS Open, losing in the second round and third round, respectively. His indoor season, however, was a success, as he won his ninth career title at the2008 Stockholm Open, defeatingRobin Söderling in the final. He was defending champion at theMadrid Masters but was quickly eliminated by fellow ArgentineJuan Martín del Potro in the third round. He then entered both theDavidoff Swiss Indoors and theBNP 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.[8]
To end the year, he participated in the2008 Davis Cup and was up on an opening match againstDavid Ferrer. Despite a victory, he ended up on the losing team against Spain in theDavis Cup finals in Argentina (The Argentine team lost 1–3). He made some offensive comments in the press against Spain, the Spanish tennis team, andRafael Nadal.[citation needed] It was rumoured that he andAgustín Calleri were involved in a fight after they lost their doubles rubber. Nalbandian denied this.[9] He was fined $10,000 for leaving the stadium after his and Calleri's defeat in doubles to SpaniardsFernando Verdasco andFeliciano López, and for his refusal to appear at a subsequent press conference to comment on the Argentine team's setback.[citation needed]
Nalbandian started his 2009 tour by winning his tenth career ATP title at theMedibank International in Sydney, Australia, after defeating Finland'sJarkko Nieminen in the final. At the Australian Open, he defeatedMarc Gicquel in the first round, in four sets before being upset by unseeded Taiwanese playerLu Yen-Hsun in five sets in the second round. At the2009 BNP Paribas Open inIndian Wells, California, he lost to World No. 1Rafael Nadal 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]
Because of several knee injuries in the early part of the 2010 season, he finally made a return, beginning at the2010 Copa Telmex, his hometown tournament. He beatPotito Starace in the first round over a period of two days due to a rain delay. In the second round, he beatDaniel Gimeno-Traver. However, he pulled out of his quarterfinals match against fifth seedAlbert 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 and helped Argentina reach the quarterfinals.[citation needed]
Playing in his first Masters Series event since Monte Carlo the previous year, he appeared at the2010 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. There, he won his first-round match againstStefan Koubek. In his next-round match, he played 22nd seedJürgen Melzer and lost. He then entered the2010 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami as a wildcard entrant. He beatŁukasz Kubot andViktor Troicki before falling toRafael Nadal in three sets. He entered the2010 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters in Monaco, ranked No. 151 in the world, beatingAndreas Beck in straight sets, before coming through against World No. 13Mikhail Youzhny of Russia in the second round. Nalbandian beatTommy Robredo, before losing in the quarterfinals to the second-rankedNovak Djokovic. Nalbandian withdrew from the2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia with a right leg injury. The injury persisted, and he withdrew from the2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, the2010 Roland Garros and the2010 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 defeatedNikolay Davydenko in the first rubber andMikhail Youzhny in the fifth and final rubber, giving Argentina a victory of 3–2 to qualify for the semifinals. He made his return in the2010 Legg Mason Tennis Classic, where he won the title, his first since2009 Medibank International Sydney after wins overRajeev Ram,Stanislas Wawrinka,Marco Chiudinelli,Gilles Simon andMarin Čilić. He defeatedMarcos Baghdatis in the finals, guaranteeing a jump in the rankings up to the vicinity of world no. 45.[10] The following week, he had a successful run to the quarterfinals in the Roger's Masters Series in Toronto, defeatingDavid Ferrer,Tommy Robredo, andRobin Söderling, before losing to World No. 4Andy Murray after this 11-match winning streak. This run took his rank up to world No. 37. He competed at the2010 BNP Paribas Masters, where he lost again to Murray in the second round.[citation needed]
In November he was granted the PlatinumKonex Award as the best tennis player of the last decade in Argentina.
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Nalbandian began the year ranked No. 27 in the world. As sixth seed in the Auckland Open, Nalbandian beatFabio Fognini,Philipp Kohlschreiber,John Isner, andNicolás Almagro, without losing a set. However, he lost in the final againstDavid Ferrer. His performance propelled him to the rank of No. 21 in the world, while also achieving the no. 1 Argentina position at the expense ofJuan Martín del Potro, who was also injured. He facedLleyton Hewitt again. The match, dubbed the "Clash of the Titans", went in the fifth set as in 2005, but this time for Nalbandian, after 57 games. He saved two match points, but in the second round was forced to retire due to cramps and fatigue, 1–6, 0–6, 0–2, toRičardas Berankis. After the Australian Open, he played in theMovistar Open.
He began his tour on clay by beating his compatriotCarlos Berlocq, before losing againstHoracio Zeballos. In Buenos Aires, he lost in the quarterfinals toTommy Robredo. He played a Davis Cup match, winning in four sets against RomanianAdrian 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 toRoger Federer in the third round of Wimbledon.[citation needed]
In the Australian Open, Nalbandian had a five-set loss to Isner and was fined $8,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct following the match.[11] On February, David participated in twoDavis Cup matches for Argentina against the German team, defeatingFlorian Mayer in a singles match[12] and then partnering withEduardo Schwank to win a doubles match againstTommy Haas andPhilipp Petzschner to help the Argentinian team advance to the quarterfinals.[13] Afterward, Nalbandian played a string of clay tournaments, reaching the quarterfinals in theBrasil Open, semifinals inBuenos Aires and a first-round exit at theMexican Open. He then entered the firstATP Masters 1000 tournament of the year, the2012 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, losing in the quarterfinals toRafael Nadal.[14] After the tournament, Nalbandian reached No. 40 in theATP rankings but failed to progress past the first round in the2012 French Open as he was beaten by the Romanian,Adrian Ungur in four sets.
In June, Nalbandian reached the final of theAegon Championships at the Queen's Club in England for the first time. He led his opponentMarin Čilić by a set but, having been broken to trail 3–4 in the second, wasdisqualified when he violently kicked a wooden partition in front of a seated line judge, injuring the linesman and drawing blood from his shin.[15]
The kick was broadcast live on the BBC television coverage of the event, and a clip showing the incident was widely viewed on YouTube.[16] A complaint alleging assault was made to theMetropolitan Police, who commenced investigations.[17] AnATP 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.[17]
In forfeiting his potential prize money of £36,114[16] [$57,350] plus the £8,000 [$12,560] conduct fine, he incurred a total loss over the weekend of £44,114 [$69,910].[15] He was additionally docked 150 ranking points by the ATP.[18]
Nalbandian was unseeded at theWimbledon championships, which followed soon after, and was defeated in straight sets byJanko Tipsarević in the first round. He lost again to Tipsarević in the first round at theLondon Olympics.
Nalbandian withdrew from the2012 US Open due to a strained muscle in his chest, one day before his scheduled first-round match against compatriot and2009 championJuan Martín del Potro.[19]
He played the last final of his career at the2013 Brasil Open, where he lost toRafael Nadal. After the quarterfinal win over France in theDavis Cup, where he played doubles, he was forced to undergo an operation on his right shoulder, sidelining him for much of the 2013 season.[20] On 1 October, he announced his retirement.
Nalbandian has sought to continue a sporting career and has taken upRallying in theArgentine Rally Championship.[21] Since then his career has progressed to appearances in theCodasur South American Rally Championship and one appearance in theWorld Rally Championship. Mostly he races an Argentine specificationChevrolet Agile.[22][23]
In February 2021, he has been hired as a coach byMiomir Kecmanović.
Nalbandian was an all-court player and a clean ball-striker, hitting powerful groundstrokes.[24] 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 return high balls on both wings with acute angles and low trajectories, using these skills with great tactical intelligence.[25]
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 of all time. 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.[26]
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 ofRoger Federer,Marat Safin andAndy 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 a lot of commentators and fans as one of the biggest underachievers in the game.[27]
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
| 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% |
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 2002 | Wimbledon | Grass |  Lleyton Hewitt | 1–6, 3–6, 2–6 |
| 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% | ||||||||
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 2005 | Tennis Masters Cup | Carpet (i) |  Roger Federer | 6–7(4–7), 6–7(11–13), 6–2, 6–1, 7–6(7–3) |
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Olimpia de Oro 2005 | Succeeded by |
