David Nalbandian

Full name is David Pablo Nalbandian...Began playing tennis at age five...Comes from Cordoba, second-largest city in Argentina...Father, Norberto, is deceased; mother, Alda, is a housewife; brothers, Javier and Dario, who is a tennis coach...His Armenian grandfather built a cement court in his backyard, where David learned to play against his two older brothers... Hobbies are fishing and watching rally races, a tradition in Cordoba (spent one week in 2001 in San Remo)... Enjoys fishing, playing soccer and big fan of River Plate team.

Compiled outstanding junior results, winning US Open title (d. Federer) and Eddie Herr International in 1998, runner-up at Roland Garros (l. to countryman Coria) and SF at Wimbledon in 1999...Won Wimbledon junior doubles title in ‘99 (w/Coria)...Finished No. 3 in singles and No. 6 in doubles in 1998 junior world rankings....Favorite bands are U2 and Coldplay...Went bungee jumping in Vienna on Oct. 13, 2004 from the 152 meter high Danube Tower...In 2002, went swimming with sharks in Melbourne.

Named one of “50 Most Beautiful in the World” in People en Espanol in June 2005...In September 2007, partnered professional driver Marcos Ligato and launched Tango Rally Team, which competed at the Rally World Championships in Andalgala, a small city of Catamarca, in northeast Argentina...He was not expected to get into a car – he merely came to support his team in Andalgala Masters...But he drove a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX and lost a knockout round against fellow Argentine and would-be champion Alejandro Cancio, who defeated Ligato in the finals (route was almost one-mile long)...Established David Nalbandian Foundation, which provides programs and projects for people with disabilities, oriented towards health and sports...Has a 27-9 career Davis Cup record (17-4 in singles) in 16 ties...Coached by countryman and former ATP pro Luis Lobo (since March 2009) and fitness trainer is Mariano Seara.

2000 -- Reached SF in San Antonio Futures and SF at two Challengers...Made ATP debut by qualifying for AMS Miami where he lost to former No. 1 Courier 7-5 in third set...

2001 -- Jumped over 200 positions in ATP Rankings to finish in Top 50 for first time...Opened season with back-to-back QF in ATP stops in Bogota and Vina del Mar...In March, won his first career Challenger title in Salinas (d. Agenor)...Reached first career ATP SF in Umag and followed with SF in Sopot...Qualified for his first Grand Slam event at US Open and beat Escude in five sets before losing to Kafelnikov in 3rd RD...Reached his first ATP final in Palermo, posting wins over Spaniards Moya, Vicente, Costa and Robredo before losing to Mantilla...Closed season with title at Montevideo Challenger (d. Gonzalez) and runner-up at Buenos Aires Challenger (l. to Calleri)...

2002 -- Finished as No. 1 Argentine and top South American for first time in his career....In April, broke through to capture his first ATP title in Estoril (d. Nieminen)... Played his first pro grass tournament at Wimbledon and surprised tennis world by reaching final...Became first Argentine to reach final and first South American in title match since Peru's Alex Olmedo won title in 1959...

 Posted first upset over grass court veteran Arthurs in 4th RD then proceeded to win back-to-back five-set matches over Lapentti and Malisse...Made his Centre Court debut in final against Hewitt and All England Club allowed him to warm up on famed court prior to match...Hewitt won 61 63 62 in most lopsided final since 1984...One month later, made Davis Cup debut in Moscow and won six hour, 20 minute doubles match (w/Arnold), 19-17 in fifth set over Kafelnikov-Safin...Then lost four-set singles match to Safin...Won title in Basel with wins over Henman (QF), Federer (SF) and Gonzalez (F)...

2003 -- Despite on-and-off injuries throughout the season, finished in Top 10 for first time in his career and qualified for Tennis Masters Cup...Did not win an ATP title but reached two finals while compiling a 13-4 record in Grand Slam play and 14-7 in AMS events...He and countryman Coria became first Argentines to finish in Top 10 in same season since No. 4 Vilas and No. 6 Clerc in 1982, also same year two Argentines reached year-end championship...Reached QF at Australian Open (d. Federer, l. to Schuettler)... Advanced to SF at AMS Hamburg (d. Schuettler, Gonzalez; l. to Calleri)...Reached 4th RD at Wimbledon (l. to Henman)...

Withdrew from three European summer clay tournaments due to an abdominal injury...Reached final at AMS Montreal with wins over Henman (2nd RD) and Schuettler (SF) before losing to Roddick in straight sets...At AMS Cincinnati, defeated Federer in 2nd RD before falling to Fish in QF...Entered US Open and posted four-set victories over Philippoussis (3rd RD), Federer (4th RD) and El Aynaoui (QF), and came within one point of reaching final in his five-set loss to Roddick...Won first two sets and held match point in third set tie-break before Roddick rallied to win 63 in final set...

Did not play in Davis Cup SF vs. Spain due to left wrist and abdominal injuries and returned to action Oct. 22 in Basel where he did not lose a set en route to final with wins over Henman (QF) and Roddick (SF) but withdrew from title match (vs. Coria) due to tendinitis in his left wrist...Returned at Tennis Masters Cup in Houston and went 1-2 in round robin play (d. Ferrero, l. to Federer and Agassi)...Played well in tie-breaks (16-9)...

2004 -- Was sidelined for more than four months throughout season due to ankle, abdominal and thigh injuries...Reached QF at Australian Open (l. to eventual champion Federer)...In February, injured his right ankle while practicing for 1st RD Davis Cup tie in Morocco and won opening rubber but did not play in reverse singles...Returned to tour play in Dubai in March but after a 1st RD loss, missed next six weeks...Won 15 of 20 matches upon his return, highlighted by QF in AMS Monte Carlo (l. to Coria) and Barcelona (l. to Vliegen), runner-up at AMS Rome (l. to Moya) and career-best SF at Roland Garros (d. Safin, Kuerten; l. to Gaudio)...

Did not play a grass court tournament after suffering an abdominal muscle tear on June 18 in an exhibition...Missed two months before returning at AMS Toronto (l. 1st RD)...Then withdrew from Athens Olympics due to left thigh injury...Following 2nd RD exit at US Open (l. to Youzhny in five sets), posted a 13-5 record with QF in Beijing and Vienna...Closed year with back-to-back runner-up finishes at AMS Madrid (l. to Safin) and Basel (l. to Novak in five sets)...Went 11-3 indoors...

2005 -- One of three players (Federer, Hewitt) during year to reach QF or better in at least three Grand Slam events...Also went 4-0 in Davis Cup singles matches to lead his country to SF (l. to Slovak Republic)...Began season with his third straight QF at Australian Open, defeating Ferrer (1st), Gonzalez (3rd) and Coria (QF) before losing 10-8 in fifth set to Hewitt despite rallying from a two-sets deficit...Claimed Munich title (d. Pavel)...Advanced to Wimbledon QF, rallying from a two-sets deficit for first time in his career against Murray in 3rd RD and followed with win over French teen Gasquet before losing to T. Johansson...

In Davis Cup SF in Sydney (on grass), defeated Arthurs and Hewitt in singles and teamed with Puerta in doubles to defeat Aussies 4-1... Played well at US Open where he reached QF (l. to eventual champ Federer)...Finished season with a 19-7 record, advancing to QF or better in six of last seven tournaments, including back-to-back SF in AMS Madrid (l. to Ljubicic) and Basel (l. to Baghdatis)...Came into Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai (in place of injured Roddick) and captured title by winning four of five matches, capped off by overcoming a two-sets deficit in victory over No. 1 Federer in a fifth set tie-break (in 4:33)...

Became first Argentine to win year-end championships since 1974 when Guillermo Vilas won Masters title...Went 6-3 vs. Top 10 opponents and compiled a 22-11 record on hard, 9-3 on clay, 7-3 on carpet and 6-2 on grass...Earned a career-high $2,273,486...

2006 -- Jumped off to a 15-5 start in first four months of play and reached a career-high No. 3 ATP Ranking on Mar. 20 with SF showings at Australian Open (l. to Baghdatis in five sets) and AMS Miami...Became third active player at the time (Agassi, Federer) to reach SF or better at all four Grand Slam tournaments in his career....Helped his country to Davis Cup final (lost 3-2 to Russia) with a four-sets win over Sweden's Soderling in 1st RD tie in Buenos Aires and defeated Cilic in QF tie in Croatia...In SF vs. Australia, defeated Philippoussis in straight sets in opening rubber to lift his country to its first Cup final since 1981 (l. to U.S.)...Won both of his singles matches in final vs. Russia...

In first three AMS tournaments, reached 4th RD in Indian Wells (l. to Srichaphan), SF in Miami (l. to Ljubicic) and 3rd RD in Monte Carlo (l. to Robredo)...On clay, captured his fifth career ATP title in Estoril (d. Davydenko), then advanced to SF at AMS?Rome, losing to Federer in a third set tie-break, and at Roland Garros where he was tied one set all against Federer before retiring with a pulled stomach muscle at 2-5 in the third set...

Only played four tournaments (4-4 mark) in next two months and advanced to 3rd RD at Wimbledon (l. to Verdasco) and 2nd RD at US Open (l. to Safin)...After helping Argentina to Davis Cup final, played in European indoor circuit and reached QF in Vienna (l. to Gonzalez), SF at AMS Madrid (l. to Federer) and QF in Basel (l. to Wawrinka)...In defense of Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai title, was 1-2 in round-robin play to reach SF (l. to Blake)...Compiled records of 18-5 on clay, 19-11 on hard, 5-2 on carpet and 2-1 on grass...Went 5-12 vs. Top 10 opponents...

2007--The Argentine's late season surge enabled him to finish in Top 10 for fifth consecutive year...He is second Argentine to finish in Top 10 at least five straight years (Guillermo Vilas had nine from 1974-82)...Captured back-to-back ATP Masters Series titles in Madrid and Paris to climb from No. 25 to his No. 9 year-end position...Posted a 13-2 record after US Open, losing only to Wawrinka twice...Prior to indoor success, his best result was QF in Barcelona in April (l. to Ferrer) and 4th RD at Australian Open and Roland Garros...Failed to reach at least one Grand Slam QF for first time in six years...

Became first player to defeat No. 1 Federer and No. 2 Nadal twice in a tournament en route to his two titles and first player to beat both in an ATP final...In Madrid, came in No. 25 and unseeded before knocking off in succession Clement, No. 11 Berdych, del Potro, Nadal, No. 3 Djokovic and Federer...Also only third player (Becker, Djokovic) since 1994 to beat Top 3 players in same tournament...

After a 1st RD loss in Basel to Wawrinka, put together an incredible week in Paris by dropping only one set in six matches (average opponent ranking No. 11)...Posted consecutive wins over Almagro, No. 16 Moya, Federer, No. 6 Ferrer (in three sets), No. 13 Gasquet and Nadal...Compiled marks of 23-10 on hard, 6-5 on clay and 2-2 on grass...Went 6-3 vs. Top 10 opponents, accounting for all six wins in Madrid and Paris...Earned over $1 million for fifth straight year.

2008 -- The No. 2 Argentine (behind del Potro) compiled another consistent season with two ATP titles in a career-high five finals...Finished out of Top 10 for first time in six years...Led his country to Davis Cup final (l. 3-1 to Spain) by winning five of six singles matches during year...In the final, beat Ferrer in opening rubber but lost in doubles (w/Calleri)...

Compiled a 20-6 mark through first four months, winning on home soil in Buenos Aires (d. Acasuso) and following with runner-up in Acapulco (l. to Almagro)...Also advanced to QF at AMS events in Indian Wells (l. to Fish) and Monte Carlo (l. to Federer)...In June, reached QF at Queen’s (l. to Djokovic)...Failed to get to a Grand Slam QF for second straight year with best finishes 3rd RD at Australian Open (l. to Ferrero) and US Open (l. to Monfils)...

Beat Andreev and lost to Davydenko in Davis Cup SF in Buenos Aires, then went 14-3 during European indoor circuit with title in Stockholm (d. Soderling), 3rd RD at AMS Madrid (l. to del Potro) and back-to-back finals in Basel (l. to Federer) and AMS Paris (l. to Tsonga)....Compiled marks of 24-8 on hard, 17-6 on clay and 3-2 on grass...Led ATP circuit with 17-4 tie-break record and went 5-5 vs. Top 10 opponents.

2009

Underwent right hip surgery on May 13 in Spain and was sidelined rest of the year…Finished out of Top 50 for first time since rookie campaign in 2000…Opened season by capturing his 10th career ATP World Tour title in Sydney (d. Nieminen)…He extended his title streak to five consecutive years…In February, advanced to SF in Buenos Aires (l. to Monaco)…In mid-March, reached 4th RD at Indian Wells*(l. to Nadal)…Reached 3rd RD in Monte Carlo* then QF showing in Barcelona but withdrew with right hip injury prior to showdown with Nadal…Also withdrew from Rome*…Lost in 1st RD in Estoril to Capdeville then announced he was to undergo hip surgery…Compiled marks of 7-3 on hard and 7-4 on clay.