David Pablo Nalbandian is an Argentine former professional tennis player.
54 Facts About David Nalbandian
2.
David Nalbandian reached his highest ranking in singles of world No 3 in March 2006, during a career that stretched from 2000 to 2013.
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David Nalbandian is the only Argentine man in history to reach the semifinals or better at all four majors and to reach the Wimbledon final.
4.
David Nalbandian was a member of the Argentinian Davis Cup team who reached the finals of the World Group in 2006,2008 and 2011.
5.
David Nalbandian played right-handed with a two-handed backhand, which was known for being a devastating shot.
6.
David Nalbandian became a professional tennis player at the age of 18.
7.
David Nalbandian finished 2002 as the No 1 Argentine and South American for the first time in his career, winning two ATP titles and reaching the Wimbledon final, where he beat David Sanchez, Paul-Henri Mathieu, George Bastl, Wayne Arthurs, Nicolas Lapentti and Xavier Malisse before losing to Lleyton Hewitt.
8.
In 2004, David Nalbandian achieved his best result at the French Open reaching the semifinals, losing to eventual champion Gaston Gaudio.
9.
David Nalbandian broke into the top 5 for the first time in his career in August and finished 2004 ranked as the World No 9 player.
10.
At Wimbledon, David Nalbandian came from two sets down to defeat Andy Murray in the third round, in what was Murray's first Major tournament.
11.
David Nalbandian won the Tennis Masters Cup, becoming only the second Argentine tennis player in history to win the year-end tournament.
12.
David Nalbandian became the first player to win the cup without previously attaining a Grand Slam or Masters Series title.
13.
David Nalbandian 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.
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One month later, David Nalbandian reached his second French Open semifinal.
15.
At Wimbledon, David Nalbandian was beaten in the third round, where he lost to Fernando Verdasco in straight sets.
16.
At the US Open, David Nalbandian was beaten in the second round by Marat Safin.
17.
David Nalbandian then competed in the Davis Cup semifinal tie against Australia.
18.
Later in the year, David Nalbandian reached semifinals at the Masters Series Madrid and the Masters Cup, where he lost to Roger Federer and James Blake, respectively.
19.
David Nalbandian suffered various abdominal injuries, a back injury, and a leg injury during the year.
20.
David Nalbandian won the tournament by defeating second seed Rafael Nadal, third seed Novak Djokovic, and top seed Federer in consecutive rounds, becoming the third player after Boris Becker and Djokovic to defeat the world's top three players in a single tournament.
21.
David Nalbandian began his 2008 season back in the top 10.
22.
David Nalbandian entered his first ATP Masters Series tournament of the year at the 2008 Pacific Life Open, and received a bye in the first round because of his seventh seeding.
23.
At the French Open, David Nalbandian suffered a shock loss in the second round to Frenchman Jeremy Chardy.
24.
David Nalbandian suffered early exits from both Wimbledon and the US Open, losing in the second round and third round, respectively.
25.
David Nalbandian was defending champion at the Madrid Masters but was quickly eliminated by fellow Argentine Juan Martin del Potro in the third round.
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David Nalbandian then entered both the Davidoff Swiss Indoors and the BNP Paribas Masters, where he was the defending champion.
27.
David Nalbandian did not win either of these tournaments but found himself in the finals of both.
28.
David Nalbandian made some offensive comments in the press against Spain, the Spanish tennis team, and Rafael Nadal.
29.
David Nalbandian was fined $10,000 for leaving the stadium after his and Calleri's defeat in doubles to Spaniards Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez, and for his refusal to appear at a subsequent press conference to comment on the Argentine team's setback.
30.
David Nalbandian made a return to tennis by playing doubles for Argentina in the Davis Cup against Sweden in Stockholm, which he won in straight sets.
31.
David Nalbandian then entered the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami as a wildcard entrant.
32.
David Nalbandian withdrew from the 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia with a right leg injury.
33.
David Nalbandian began the year ranked No 27 in the world.
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David Nalbandian began his tour on clay by beating his compatriot Carlos Berlocq, before losing against Horacio Zeballos.
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David Nalbandian played a Davis Cup match, winning in four sets against Romanian Adrian Ungur.
36.
David Nalbandian lost to Roger Federer in the third round of Wimbledon.
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David Nalbandian then entered the first ATP Masters 1000 tournament of the year, the 2012 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, losing in the quarterfinals to Rafael Nadal.
38.
David Nalbandian automatically forfeited his prize money and ranking points due to his conduct default.
39.
David Nalbandian was additionally docked 150 ranking points by the ATP.
40.
David Nalbandian was unseeded at the Wimbledon championships, which followed soon after, and was defeated in straight sets by Janko Tipsarevic in the first round.
41.
David Nalbandian lost again to Tipsarevic in the first round at the London Olympics.
42.
David 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 Martin del Potro.
43.
David Nalbandian played the last final of his career at the 2013 Brasil Open, where he lost to Rafael Nadal.
44.
David Nalbandian has sought to continue a sporting career and has taken up Rallying in the Argentine Rally Championship.
45.
David Nalbandian was an all-court player and a clean ball-striker, hitting powerfully struck groundstrokes.
46.
David Nalbandian had a decent, but not particularly dominating service game compared to top 20 players.
47.
David Nalbandian 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.
48.
David 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.
49.
David Nalbandian often used it to set up a point, by either hitting a clean winner or forcing a weak return from the opponent.
50.
David Nalbandian is known to be one of the game's best returners.
51.
David Nalbandian 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 had the ability to block it back deep when returning a more effective serve.
52.
David Nalbandian used a "chip-and-charge" technique against the opponents' serves to surprise them.
53.
Early in his career, David 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.
54.
David Nalbandian has been considered by some commentators as one of the biggest underachievers in the game.