In October ten years ago, David Nalbandian won Madrid Open. That tournament was one of the most impressive and beautiful in the career of the Argentine player of Armenian descent.
He had brilliant wins over top 3 players of the world: Rafael Nadal in quarter-finals, Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals and Roger Federer in the final.
Nalbandian became the 3rd tennis player after 1994 to defeat top three players in one tournament.
Mediamax Sport tells the story of David Nalbandian’s achievement of 2007 in the In One Shot series.
The competition was held on October 15-21 in Madrid. It was Nalbandian’s best in his entire career and a first win in a tournament of that level.
He wasn’t a favorite, but managed to take the strongest players out of the competition.
Nalbandian faced Federer in the final and produced sensational performance. Although the Swiss was ahead of him in the first set, Nalbandian won 1:6 in just 20 minutes and went into the break in high spirits.
During the break, Nalbandian appeared to be talking to himself, perhaps praying or whispering an encouraging speech, but he returned to the court a different man.
Photo: Facebook
It was Federer’s turn to make errors. Nalbandian won 6:3, 6:3, and took the victory. It was the sixth title in his career.
“I think I surprised the whole world by beating Federer. It was incredible. He was almost unbeatable. I showed my best play against him,” said Nalbandian.
David was a favorite among fans and enjoyed respect of his opponents. This is what Rafael Nadal said about him:
“Naldandian is talented and plays lightly. Even the most difficult moves seem easy in his performance. I’m really surprised a player like him didn’t win the Grand Slam.”
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