WASHINGTON – A year ago this summer, David Nalbandian stood on stadium court at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic holding a shiny crystal trophy while listening to the crowd sing his name and wave Argentine flags.
Aging veteran James Blake gave the defending champion no chance to relive the experience. He knocked Nalbandian out of the tournament with a convincing 6-2, 6-4 second round upset.
Blake was quick to point out, however, that his play did not make a statement about where he is with his career.
“The only statement I was making is how much I respect David Nalbandian, and I couldn’t let off the accelerator for one second there,” Blake said after the match. “I know how talented he is. He might be one of only one or two people who have come back from two sets to love down against Roger Federer so the guy has some ability when he’s behind to play some great tennis. I didn’t want to let off that at all. It wasn’t a statement saying ‘I’m back’ or anything like that.”
As well as Blake played, Nalbandian looked nothing like the man who took the crown last year. His timing was off throughout the evening. Unforced errors abounded off both wings. He rarely even made it to the net for his customary winners.
Was he still struggling from past injuries? In a word, Nalbandian said no.
“I think he just played better than me,” Nalbandian said. “I’m OK. I feel good. I just need matches to be in good shape again. No excuse. No pains. Everything is perfect.”
Blake dictated play from the onset. Moving like a younger version of himself, he pounced around the court with answers to seemingly everything Nalbandian threw at him. Even when a Blake shot was called out in the second set, he raised his hand and made a quick challenge – prompting Nalbandian to nod is head and flutter his hand as if to say he too thought the call was shaky. Replay confirmed Blake’s shot was in.
Replays weren’t needed to confirm that Nalbandian’s serve was off, especially in the first set when only 30 percent of his first serves found the box.
“One of the guillatines was that my serve didn’t work very good, especially in the beginning,” Nalbandian said.
Still, the defending champ did show flashes of the game that earned him the 2010 title. Down 3-4 in the second set, he tracked down a blistering Blake smash and lobbed it high enough over his opponent’s head to force an error. Blake responded with two aces to close out that game. He was no more kind in his response to other great shots from Nalbandian.
“I recognized he was having trouble out there,” Blake said. “I did my best to keep the streak going – keep putting the pressure on him and keep him thinking. “
Blake opened the match with a bang: He rolled through the first set in a scant 29 minutes. The second set didn’t last much longer.
“I felt good with what I was controlling,” Blake said. “What I was controlling, I was doing well. Today was a whole level better than I played yesterday and it had to be.”
Next up for Blake is a Thursday match with neighbor and frequent hitting partner John Isner.
Photo credit © by Won-ok Kim
