In 2007, Nalbandian produced a stunning performance as he defeated Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer on his way to winning the Madrid Masters title.
After surviving two three-setters at the start of the tournament, Nalbandian ousted home player Nadal 6-1 6-2 in the quarter-final. Next up for the Argentinian was Djokovic, who also suffered a 6-4 7-6 defeat. Then, in the Madrid final, the former world number 3 lost the first set before staging an impressive 1-6 6-3 6-3 comeback against Federer.
To this day, Nalbandian – who retired from professional tennis in 2013 – remains the only player to have managed to beat Nadal, Djokovic and Federer in the same tournament.
Nalbandian: I didn’t realize what was happening until the tournament ended…
“It was something incredible. I didn’t realize that had happened until Monday, when it ended. When you were in a tournament like that, at that time, it was normal to play against them, and if you wanted to win the tournament, you had to beat everyone,” the former world number 1 said during an interview for the New Balls Please! podcast.
“It was like their best moment, or practically the best moment of the three. You always played, at least with two, always. It was normal. Well, I was lucky that I could beat all three of them in a row in the same week. Of course it was something incredible and it won’t happen again. But yes, at that time it was very difficult. We were used to playing against them.”
After winning his first Masters title in Madrid, Nalbandian also won the Paris Masters at the end of 2007. The Argentine ended his career with eleven titles.
Nalbandian also came close to becoming a Grand Slam champion after losing the 2002 Wimbledon final.
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