Remembering David Nalbandian’s Unforgettable Triumph at the 2007 Madrid Open

The year was 2007 in the Spanish capital, in a tournament that was held for the sixth time at the Madrid Arena in the Casa de Campo. The defense of the title was carried out by Roger Federer, who in the previous season had managed to make his debut, with Rafa Nadal also present in the draw, having lifted the trophy in 2005 after overcoming a two-set deficit against Ivan Ljubicic.

But the leading role in that edition to remember was for ‘King David’, who had already managed to reach the final in 2004, falling against the Russian Marat Safin. Nalbandian was a unique tennis player, with a strong temperament, capable of the best and the worst, but when he was at his peak he was very difficult to beat, even for the members of the ‘Big 3’, as he would demonstrate in Madrid.

At that time, Nalbandian was ranked 25th in the ATP rankings and did not have an easy start to the tournament, having to come back in his first round match against Frenchman Arnaud Clement (7-5, 6-2, 6-4 ). He had to do the same in the second round against the Czech Tomas Berdych 4-6, 6-4 and 7-6 (2), before he unleashed his fury from the third on the Madrid indoor court.

Against his compatriot Juan Martín del Potro he took a step forward (2-6 and 4-6), but none of the three previous matches can be compared to what he achieved in the three final rounds of a draw that will no longer be able to be equaled after Roger Federer’s retirement last year. Rafa Nadal awaited him in the quarterfinals and the result could not have been more discouraging for the Spanish fans.

Nalbandian was a true hammer from the back of the court, with an overwhelming style, which only allowed Nadal to make three games in the entire match. Taking into account that at that time the Spaniard was number two in the world and had won a whopping six titles that year, the surprise was huge at the Madrid Arena (6-1 and 6-2).

Waiting in the semifinals was Novak Djokovic, who had not yet released his Grand Slam record, but was already ranked number three in the ATP rankings. For Nalbandian it was the only occasion in which he was able to surpass him until his retirement in 2014, again achieving victory in two sets 4-6 and 6-7 (4) as he had already achieved against Nadal, meeting Roger Federer in the grand finale.

The Swiss was defending the victory achieved the previous year and had not lost to the Argentine for two seasons, although he was fully aware of the danger posed by ‘King David’s’ racket. Perhaps that is why Federer came out with the aim of finishing the match as soon as possible, sweeping the first set (6-1). But the world number one could not stop the comeback of the player from Córdoba, who would manage to win the next ones, closing an unrepeatable feat in the world of tennis (6-1, 3-6 and 3-6). A week later he would beat him again in the round of 16 of Paris-Bercy.

Carlos Alcaraz repeated something similar at the 2022 Mutua Madrid Open, but the absence of Roger Federer prevented him from having the option of matching Nalbandian. On his way to the title, he beat Rafa Nadal in the quarterfinals and Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, facing the German Alexander Zverev in the final. And the Spanish capital has something for the exploits against the ‘Big 3’, like that of the Argentine 16 years ago.

2023-10-22 10:08:00
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