NALBANDIAN BACK TO LIFE WITH FEDERER SCALP

Sydney Morning Herald
Oct 23 2007
Australia

MADRID: David Nalbandian proved he’s back as a major force with
victory over world No.1 Roger Federer in the Madrid Masters final to
cap a history-making tournament.

Ranked 25 in the world, the Argentine toppled Federer 1-6, 6-3,
6-3 to claim his first title in nearly 18 months.

He became only the third man in 14 years to beat the top three players
in the world at the same event, with his successive victories over
Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Federer. Boris Becker was the first
in Stockholm 1994. Djokovic did it on the way to the title in Montreal
this year.

Former No.3 Nalbandian went without a coach for a year before taking
on Hernan Gumy in the northern summer.

"I’m extremely contented to beat the world No.1," Nalbandian said.

"Roger and I have a long history, and I think that influenced the
match." After dominating in their early days, Nalbandian rose up again
to prove that he can be the Swiss player’s nemesis. The South American
won their first five ATP encounters before Federer swept eight of
their past nine, losing only the 2005 Masters Cup final in Shanghai.

"He served well, I was quite surprised with how well he served,"
Federer said. "He came back strong and played well in the end. He
was a better player all in all. I was struggling after the first
set to play aggressive for some reason. He played tough and didn’t
miss any more. I couldn’t play the way I wanted to. It was a pity,
he played a great tournament."

Nalbandian, who last won a title in May last year, on clay in Estoril,
was swept aside in 29 minutes in the first set. "It was an extremely
hard set," he said. "But I tightened the teeth and I began to play
more strongly. Things came out fine. Today I played incredible,
and of course that helps."