Tennis: Nalbandian shrugs off final capitulation

David Nalbandian. Photo / Janna Dixon

It is said that Argentina has more psychiatrists per capita than any other country in the world.

One wonders how many of their clients are tennis journalists, who have had to joust with David Nalbandian over the past decade. The world No27, on the comeback trail after an injury-plagued 2010, is a complex individual who showed all angles of his personality last week.

Leading into yesterday's final, the Argentine had been the standout performer, not dropping a set en route to the decider and only being broken once in 40 service games. Yesterday he fell apart, but declined to offer any explanation for the capitulation.

"Today I lost," he said. "It is not a big deal. You have two choices - win or lose."

One reporter wanted more; asking how he could account for the chameleon-like displays across Friday and Saturday.

"You have days [like that] sometimes you know - do you wake up every day [feeling] good?"

Earlier in the week, when a journalist had questioned his unforced error rate, Nalbandian again made it personal.

"Do you play tennis?" he snapped, "Do you know what it is like?"

"I do play," the answer came sheepishly, "though obviously not as good as you."

Apart from dealing with unpredictable post-match returns, trying to analyse his career and future is also enough to send you to a shrink's couch.

On the court, Nalbandian enjoyed a brilliant week, convincingly beating the defending champion John Isner then taking down third seed Nicolas Almagro. He impressed all with the smoothness of his groundstrokes and impeccable timing.

Sometimes he made it look almost too easy as he tattooed the lines with a series of passing shots, especially his backhand winners down the line.

Just like a Dan Carter, a Benji Marshall or a Lionel Messi he seems to find time and space where there is none.

His stated goal for 2011 is simple: "I want to return to the top 10," he says without blinking.

His conqueror yesterday, David Ferrer, is backing Nalbandian's chances.

"He lost concentration a little [today] but he is a player with [so much talent]," said Ferrer. "He hits the returns so well and so hard - you have to be very careful. When he gets his rhythm, he is very hard to stop. I think he can return to the top 10."

Though he has lost some pace, the 29-year-old retains his famed anticipation. His talent is unquestionable - Swedish legend Mats Wilander mused at last year's US Open that Nalbandian may be the most talented player on the tour today, apart from Roger Federer.

The question is whether he has the will; the want ; the stomach for the fight and the capacity for the work.

Nalbandian is adamant he does: "The day I don't have the desire any more is the day I will stop."

He has enjoyed a fine career so far, without perhaps the huge breakthroughs that his talent deserved. His exploits in 2002 at Wimbledon were the stuff of Hollywood movies. He was such an outsider that upon reaching the final - in his first grasscourt tournament - that he hadn't appeared once on centre court. He had to be granted special permission to warm up on the hallowed turf before the decider.

He was also the first South American to reach the Wimbledon decider since 1959, but has never gone beyond the quarter-finals since. His versatility is unmatched - just the fourth active player, along with Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic to reach the semifinals of all four Slams; but he has never made another final.

The highpoint of his career - beating Federer in an incredible fifth set tiebreak to take the Masters Cup in 2005 - serves to show what might have been.

After all these years, he remains the flag bearer for tennis in Argentina. At one stage not long ago, they had five players in the top 20. Now they have none.

Players like Gaston Gaudio, Guillermo Coria and Mariano Puerta shone briefly, reaching grand slam finals before disappearing again. Even Juan Martin Del Potro has yet to prove he is more than a two-season wonder.

Nalbandian endures, and the 29-year-old is about to start his 12th year on the tour, where he has won 11 titles and been consistent in the Davis Cup.

For that reason in Argentina his nickname is simply El Rey (the King). And we know how nervous one gets in the presence of royalty.