Nalbandian Coasts Through
Tuesday, June 24, 2003
It was the battle between the man with the borrowed reputation and
the man with borrowed shorts. Last year David Nalbandian tiptoed
through the holes in the draw to emerge, blinking and unannounced,
into the limelight and the Wimbledon final.
Two years before Voltchkov had done much the same, walloping his
way through the rounds in some spare tennis kit he had borrowed
from a friend, to reach the semi-finals. Neither man had climbed
so high before, and neither has done so since.
The fact that Nalbandian has Wimbledon finalist on his CV is put
down to a quirk of nature. Surely such a thing cannot happen again?
But that is to ignore the fact that he is rather good at what he does
- namely leathering the ball from the baseline and into the corners.
Given slightly slower courts to play with, he grabbed his chances with
both hands to make a name for himself. Judging by today's performance
he has every intention of hanging on to it.
Voltchkov's game is built around the simple fact of being a big
strong lad. If he gets to the ball, he belts it for all he is worth
- it is just being in the right place at the right time that causes
the problems.
After four consecutive breaks of serve at the start of the first
set, he seemed to have got the hang of where to be and what to do
for the next set and a half. That was when Nalbandian upped the
ante and, using cunning ploys such as the drop shot, he took control
to rattle through 7-5, 6-4, 6-2.
The last time he did well here, Nalbandian returned to Argentina to
receive a hero's welcome. So great was his fame that a bus stop and
a hot dog stand (King David's Hotdogs) were named in his honour.
Another decent run this year and who knows what might be dedicated
to his achievements. His very own chip shop, perhaps. Such is the
stuff of dreams.
Written by Alix Ramsay
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