David Nalbandian became the first player ranked outside the top 100 to win an ATP title this year, using his typically strong service returns and effective baseline game to beat No. 25 Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus 6-2, 7-6 (4) on Sunday in the Legg Mason Classic final.
It was the Argentine’s 11th career title, but his first on US soil, and first anywhere in a year and a half. He hadn’t entered a tournament since April, sidelined by a left hamstring injury. Before that, Nalbandian missed nearly 10 months starting in May last year because of hip surgery.
“I didn’t expect to win my first tournament,” Nalbandian said. “In the beginning, if I had to bet, I [wouldn’t have] bet on myself, of course.”
PHOTO: REUTERS
Nalbandian has missed about 12 of the past 15 months because of injuries. He hadn’t played in a tournament since April and needed a wild-card invitation merely to get into the field.
A week later, he left as the hard-court tournament’s champion.
“If he plays like that,” Baghdatis said, “he can beat a lot of guys in the top 10.”
Baghdatis had a chance to extend the match while leading 6-5 in the second set. He held a set point at 30-40 on Nalbandian’s serve, but put a forehand into the net on a 10-stroke exchange. Nalbandian eventually held serve there, then surged to a 5-0 lead in the tiebreaker.
Baghdatis won the next three points and Nalbandian hit his seventh double-fault of the day on his first match point. Baghdatis then missed a forehand to end the match after 1 hour, 59 minutes.
Nalbandian has reached at least the semi-finals five times at major championships, and was ranked as high as No. 3. However, all of the recent time off, including skipping the past six Grand Slam tournaments, contributed to a slide down the rankings to 161st.
The unseeded Nalbandian was impressive all week, winning 12 of 13 sets while upsetting four seeded players: No. 4 Marin Cilic, No. 7 Stanislas Wawrinka, No. 13 Gilles Simon, and No. 8 Baghdatis.
Asked if he feels as though he’s playing like someone who’s in the top 10, Nalbandian said: “So far, the ranking doesn’t say so, but I think I won some great matches and that’s what counts.”
Cheered on by dozens of fans waving Argentina’s blue-and-white flag, Nalbandian gave his country a third consecutive title in Washington.
Based on Nalbandian’s performances this week, it seems likely that players will hope to avoid facing him at the US Open, where action begins on Aug. 30.
“If I continue playing this good,” Nalbandian said on Sunday, looking ahead to Flushing Meadows, “I have chances to go very far.”
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