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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Ruined vacation worth the hassle


Argentina's David Nalbandian moved up to No. 6 in the world after upsetting world No. 1 Roger Federer in the Tennis Masters Cup final.
 (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Bill Cormier Associated Press

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – David Nalbandian is ready to go fishing and pick up his interrupted vacation plans.

“It really doesn’t get any better than this,” he said.

The Argentine was all set to go fishing when the ATP summoned him to replace injured Andy Roddick at the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai. He wound up with one big catch: a five-set victory in the final over top-ranked Roger Federer, who until Sunday’s title match had not lost since June.

After 30 hours of flying from China, Nalbandian returned home. He is gratified not only with the title but the way in which he won it – a tiebreaker in the last set of the season-ending tournament.

“Luckily I played the points well, and in the end I prevailed,” he said at a news conference Monday. “I took victory from a match that was practically lost.”

Nalbandian rallied from two sets down to win 6-7 (4), 6-7 (11), 6-2, 6-1, 7-6 (3). He earned $1.4 million and advanced to No. 6 in the rankings, the third straight year he made the top 10.

Federer, hobbled by an ankle injury and on crutches three weeks ago, hadn’t lost in 24 finals. Nalbandian ended Federer’s 35-match winning streak and his bid to equal John McEnroe’s 21-year-old mark of 82-3 for the best winning percentage in a season.

“It’s incredible playing a final of a Masters against the No. 1 in the world,” Nalbandian said. “There’s nothing better than that … and to have won a final against Federer makes the victory all the more sweeter.”

Nalbandian was placed in the Masters Cup for the second time when Roddick hurt his back. Along with Roddick, Rafael Nadal, Lleyton Hewitt, Andre Agassi and Marat Safin also pulled out either before or right at the start of the tournament.

The withdrawals brought in Gaston Gaudio and Mariano Puerta alongside qualifier Guillermo Coria, meaning Argentines constituted half the eight-man field. Nalbandian qualified in 2003 but didn’t advance from round-robin play.

“I got to Shanghai just in time to train,” Nalbandian said. “But with the time change, I didn’t feel well.”

He decided the only way to win was to let his mental game carry him. He felt more solid with each day on the Shanghai carpet and played with confidence against Federer.

Nalbandian lost to Federer in three sets in the round-robin group, but his victory in the final improved his record against the Swiss star to 6-4. He became the first Argentine champ at the tournament since Guillermo Vilas in 1974.

Nalbandian’s next goal is to be ranked among the top three. He was as high as No. 4 after making the 2004 French Open semifinals. This year, Nalbandian also won at Munich and reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and Australian Open.

He declined to say where he would go fishing, but this time there will be no chance of interrupting his vacation.