The Argentine press is in a swoon over the announcement that David Nalbandian, “King David,” as he is known there, is retiring. Nalbandian has undergone several surgeries in the last few years, so it’s not actually a shock, but the popular player with the magnificent backhand and the sharp angles of a physicist will be missed. Local press mentioned some of his career highlights:
Sept. 1988: At 16, he won the US Open Juniors title, beating Roger Federer, the reigning Wimbledon Juniors champ: 6-3, 7-5.
March 2000: Made his ATP debut in Key Biscayne. Made it through the qualifying rounds, only to fall to Jim Courier.
April 2002: Won his first ATP title in Estoril on clay over Nieminen, beating Coria and Moyà along the way.
July 2002: After a great fortnight, lost in the Wimbledon final to then-world No. 1, Lleyton Hewitt.
Sept. 2002: Made his Davis Cup debut. Nalbandian beat (along with Lucas Arnold) Safin/Kafelnikov in doubles, and Safin in straights in his singles tie, though Argentina eventually fell to Russia.
July 2005: Again in Davis Cup, Nalbandian beats Hewitt on grass in Australia to give Argentina the win over the Aussies.
November 2005: Wins Shanghai Masters
March 2006: Reaches No. 3 in the world rankings, behind Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. He is the third Argentine to do so, after Vilas and Coria.
December 2006: In a losing effort against Russia, Nalbandian beats Davydenko and Safin.
October 2007: A career high. At the Paris Masters 1000, he beat Federer in the quarterfinals, then Nadal in the final to take the title. He was the first player to beat both champions in one tournament. And two weeks later, he won the Madrid Masters by beating Nadal in the quarterfinal, Djokovic in the semifinal, and Federer in the final.
August 2010: Wins his last professional title in Washington, over Marcos Baghdatis, 6-2, 7-6.