David Nalbandian topic #2: Nalby has them all for breakfast!

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Op dinsdag 15 december 2009 12:15 schreef Chriz2k het volgende:

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De beste man veegt Massu en Gaudio zonder wedstrijdritme probleemloos van de baan met 10 kilo overgewicht, heeft hij nou echt niet iets van ''Laat ik eens fatsoenlijk gaan eten en trainen?''.

Zo zonde altijd, dat vergooien van talent.

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Soon, David will be on his way to Auckland, to play his first ATP tournament since May. And to start his 2010 season. But although it's clear by now what the first few months will look like for David, at least in terms of his schedule, the big question is of course - how well will he be able to do, playing on the Tour again?
His first test, at San Juan and the Copa Argentina, he passed and much better than I expected. Proving not only that his game, his old strengths are still there but also showing that he has done some work on his weaker shots, especially his forehand. He also proved that he was fit enough to play two matches, five sets on one day. And winning both exhibition events must have done his confidence a lot of good.
But still, he'll soon face much stronger opponents. Playing real matches in possibly difficult conditions. - A different matter.
I won't make any predictions about how far David might be able to go at these first few tournaments. But there are a couple of things that will be important in the coming weeks and months...

Ranking
If a year ago, someone had told me that at the start of this season David would be ranked #64, I would've been shocked. But after all that happened last year, #64 now really doesn't seem too bad. (That David has yet again moved up a place is, I believe, the result of Safin's retirement.)
However, there's still Sydney, which is to say David's victory there last year and those 250 ranking points that will come off directly after the week of Sydney/Auckland. In other words, unless David wins Auckland, he'll lose points. Maybe a lot of them, if he goes out in the first or second round. And in that case, he could still easily end up finding himself outside of the Top 100 after Auckland.

Draws
A bit of luck with the draw is always important for going deep at a tournament. At the start of this season, however, David's luck with the draws (or lack of) could very well end up playing a decisive role in determining the success of his comeback. - As he's not going to be seeded anywhere. Even if he uses his protected ranking to get into the main draw without having to play qualies. And that makes for some rather interesting possible scenarios. Especially at the Australian Open... Anything can happen, including a first-round match against Federer. Or anybody else inside the Top Ten. But also at the smaller tournaments, David will never be safe from meeting one of the top seeds in the first round.

Davis Cup
Always a factor with David. This year even more so with the difficult away tie against Sweden looming in the distance (March 5-7). And if David was very passionate about the Davis Cup before, it's now bound to get even 'worse'. With merely another two or three years of playing left, his desire to win the Davis Cup will probably grow only more acute.
But the good news is that in the meantime, Delpo has declared that he's planning to play the tie in Stockholm, after all. And after David already talked a number of times about how important Delpo is for the team, Delpo has by now returned the compliment.

"Nalbandian is doing well after surgery and he'll surely play a very important part on the team again. Therefore we can dream about winning [the Davis Cup] again." (Source. Thanks, tennisace.)

Right now, it looks like the two of them will be playing for Argentina together again. And hopefully they'll find a way of finally overcoming their differences.

So - what does it look like, the road ahead for David?
I really don't know. But with a bit of luck with the draws (and if his hip remains to be okay), I think he might surprise a lot of people...

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Op dinsdag 5 januari 2010 20:36 schreef Federer-fan het volgende:

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Nou, het enige stukje in dat artikel wat ik realistisch vond was het stukje over dat buffet.

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Op maandag 11 januari 2010 18:48 schreef Tim86 het volgende: