By Christopher Lancette
There’s a lot I like about David Nalbandian as he works his way back up the rankings in 2011. He’s a man who uses his head, heart and sometimes even his feet.
He put the latter to use for a good cause on Feb. 12 when he played a little soccer to raise money for the Primary Healthcare Center in Pueblo Nuevo, Argentina. Joining soccer scribe Gaston Recondo in the Entre Rios province of his home country, Nalbandian and the soccer club Juventud Unida de Gualeguaychu sought to expand the facility at Centro de Atención Primaria de Salud.
While many ATP players try to catch a rare rest between tournaments, the 2002 Wimbledon finalist Nalbandian was spending some of his not-very-free time with his foundation – Fundacion David Nalbandian. It’s dedicated to improving the quality of life for the disabled and for the most neglected social groups. It also promotes participation in sports and adapted sports.
I salute any player who manages to do so much good in a year-round sport with no real breaks. I like Nalbandian’s game just as much and hope to see him return to the top ten before the year is out if he can avoid repercussions from the hip injury that dropped him down to the 60s in the rankings.
Watching Nalbandian practice at the 2010 Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington D.C. before the tournament began, I turned to a friend and predicted that the wild card entry would win the event. He did exactly that, using the kind of tennis that makes crowds like the one in D.C. start singing in Spanish even when most of its members don’t speak the language. (Still can’t figure out where so many light blue and white flags came from within seconds of match point.)
Unlike the boring stand-in-one-spot baseliners (Andy Roddick, Tomas Berdych, Mardy Fish, et al.), Nalbandian employs an aggressive offense. He’s as adroit blasting double-fisted backhands down the line for winners as he is attacking the net and carving sharp angles to win points.
He’s also one of the seemingly few players who makes on-court strategic adjustments when needed – splitting open a crack in an opponent’s armor or switching to another option if his intended game plan isn’t working.
Nalbandian has the guts to play to win rather than sitting back and hoping not to lose. The approach has him off to a 6-3 start in 2011, including an Australian Open victory over Lleyton Hewitt. Nalbandian this week is playing at the Copa Claro inBuenos Aires.
It would be great to see Nalbandian regain the spot he deserves in the top five. The foundation of his game is so solid that he certainly has a chance. It’s the other foundation, though, the one that bears his name, that might mean even more to him.