On Nov. 4, 2007, David Nalbandian capped a 17-day stretch that remains one of the rarest feats in men’s tennis by defeating Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-0 in the Rolex Paris Masters final, ATP Tour reported. Nalbandian faced no break points in the 70-minute match and converted four of the six break points he generated.
Seventeen days earlier, on Oct. 18, 2007, the Argentine had beaten the same Nadal — then the No. 2 player in the PIF ATP Rankings — 6-1, 6-2 in the Madrid Masters quarterfinals, also without facing a break point, in 71 minutes, converting five of eight.
A 6-4, 6-0 statement in Paris
The Paris final was the second time in less than three weeks that Nalbandian dismantled Nadal on a fast indoor hard court. In both matches he never faced a break point, a statistical rarity against a player of Nadal’s defensive quality. The Paris win gave Nalbandian his second Masters 1000 title in 17 days and moved his head-to-head record against Nadal to 2-0.
Nalbandian’s path to the Paris title ran directly through the top of the rankings. He beat No. 28 Tommy Almagro and No. 16 Carlos Moyà, then Roger Federer — the world No. 1 — 6-5, 7-6(3) in the round of 16, a result that tied their head-to-head series at 8-8. He followed with wins over David Ferrer, the only player to take sets from him in the tournament, and Richard Gasquet before meeting Nadal in the final.
Seventeen days earlier: the Madrid fairytale
The Paris triumph was not an isolated peak. On Oct. 18, 2007, at the Madrid Masters — then played in October on fast indoor hard courts — Nalbandian beat Nadal 6-1, 6-2 in the quarterfinals, then defeated No. 3 Novak Djokovic in the semifinals and No. 1 Roger Federer in the final to claim his first Masters 1000 title. Along the way he also beat No. 40 Julien Benneteau, No. 11 Tomáš Berdych and No. 53 Juan Martín del Potro.
The run appeared to end a week later, when Nalbandian lost to Stan Wawrinka in the first round of the Swiss Indoors in Basel. He revived it the following week in Paris, where he again beat both members of the top two — Federer and Nadal — in the same event.
David Nalbandian went on an absolutely tear at the end of 2007 and won the Madrid and Paris Masters back to back. He was unseeded at both tournaments. Madrid Masters 2007: • R1: Arnaud Clement (5-7- 6-2-6-4) • R2: (9) Tomas Berdych (4-6 6-4 7-6) • R3: Juan Martin del Potro…
An exclusive club of six
By beating Federer and Nadal at the same tournament in Paris, Nalbandian joined a group of just six players who have accomplished the feat: Nikolay Davydenko, Novak Djokovic, Juan Martín del Potro, Andy Murray, David Goffin and Nalbandian himself. Only three of them — Davydenko, Djokovic and Nalbandian — have done it at more than one tournament.
That distinction has kept Nalbandian in the exclusive sub-list since Nov. 4, 2007, at the Paris-Bercy venue.
How the rivalries ended
Nalbandian’s early dominance in both rivalries was striking. He won the first two matches against Nadal and the first five against Federer. The rivalries ultimately flipped: Nadal won their head-to-head 5-2, and Federer won his 11-8.
The two Masters 1000 titles Nalbandian collected in Madrid and Paris both came within that span of less than 20 days, a double that still stands as the defining peak of his 2007 season.
Questions readers ask about Nalbandian’s 2007 Paris run
How rare is it to beat both Federer and Nadal at the same tournament? Only six players in history have done it, and just three — Davydenko, Djokovic and Nalbandian — have repeated it at a second event, ATP Tour reported.
What happened between Nalbandian’s Madrid and Paris titles? He lost in the first round of the Swiss Indoors in Basel to Stan Wawrinka, a result that briefly interrupted the streak before he rebuilt it in Paris.
How dominant was Nalbandian in the 2007 Paris final? He won 6-4, 6-0 in 70 minutes without facing a single break point, converting four of the six break points he created against Nadal.
Did Nalbandian’s early success against Federer last? No — he won the first five meetings, including the round-of-16 match in Paris that tied the series at 8-8, but Federer ultimately won the head-to-head 11-8.
The final word belongs to the scoreboard: two Masters 1000 titles, four wins over the world’s top two, all inside 17 days in the autumn of 2007.
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