David Nalbandian was one of the greatest players of his generation, despite never winning a Grand Slam title.
The former world number three reached one major final at the 2002 Wimbledon Championships. Unfortunately for Argentine tennis fans, Nalbandian was comprehensively defeated by Lleyton Hewitt.
The Argentine rose to world number three during his time on Tour, defeating the likes of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic during his career.
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Nalbandian, who has selected his best player from the ‘Big Three’, came ever so close to reaching another Grand Slam final at the 2006 Australian Open.
However, he was stopped in his tracks by Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis.
David Nalbandian believes he would have beaten Roger Federer in the 2006 Australian Open final
At the 2006 Australian Open, fourth seed David Nalbandian found himself up against unseeded Marco Baghdatis in the semi-finals.
Nalbandian led the contest by two sets, but eventually fell to a 3-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 loss.
Baghdatis, ranked 54th in the world, lost in the final to Roger Federer: 5-7 7-5 6-0 6-2.
Nalbandian has reflected on his semi-final loss to Baghdatis almost 20 years later, claiming that he would have beaten Roger Federer, had he reached the final.
On ‘Clank!‘, Nalbandian said: “I didn’t expect that defeat [to Baghdatis].
“I was winning 2-0, although the game was still very hard. It’s a game that I should have won: I would have played the final with Roger again… and I think that if I won there, in the final I would have won Roger again, because we had come from the Masters game two months earlier.
“These are situations that happen like this, you can’t do more.”
The Masters match Nalbandian is referring to concerns the 2005 Tennis Masters Cup Final. Nalbandian defeated Federer 6-7, 6-7, 6-2, 6-1, 7-6 to win the title.
On the Clank! podcast, Nalbandian added: “In tennis there is no time to party so much or to make you sad for a long time: it is a circus that moves very fast, and you always have to be on top of the train.
“There is never so much time to regret or to celebrate.”
Nalbandian could not understand how he missed the opportunity to defeat Baghdatis
After losing to Baghdatis in excruciating circumstances, Nalbandian could not believe he had lost the match.
As reported by BBC Sport in 2006, Nalbandian said: “It was quite tough.
“He’s very good player. I had a lot of chances to win the match, so I can’t understand how I missed that opportunity to win it.”
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Nalbandian retired from his playing career in 2013 at the age of 31 due to a shoulder injury.
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