David Nalbandian beat Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-0 in the Paris final, 2007 on indoor hard court
Nalbandian was unseeded and in addition to the top 2 seeds (Nadal 2, Roger Federer 1), beat seeds 14 Carlos Moya, 5 David Ferrer and 10 Richard Gasquet among others in the tournament
The previous week, Nalbandian had won the Madrid Indoors where he had again beaten Nadal and Federer, along with Novak Djokovic, Juan Martin del Potro and Tomas Berdych among others
To date, this is Nadal's only final at the event
Nalbandian won 57 points, Nadal 31
Serve Stats
Nalbandian...
- 1st serve percentage (24/41) 59%
- 1st serve points won (21/24) 88%
- 2nd serve points won (13/17) 76%
- Aces 5
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (11/41) 27%
Nadal...
- 1st serve percentage (30/47) 64%
- 1st serve points won (21/30) 70%
- 2nd serve points won (3/17) 18%
- Aces 1
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (7/47) 15%
Serve Pattern
Nalbandian served...
- to FH 32%
- to BH 68%
Nadal served...
- to FH 41%
- to BH 50%
- to Body 9%
Return Stats
Nalbandian made...
- 39 (24 FH, 15 BH), including 6 runaround FHs
- 3 Winners (2 FH, 1 BH), including 1 runaround FH
- 6 Errors, comprising...
- 3 Unforced (2 FH, 1 BH)
- 3 Forced (2 FH, 1 BH)
- Return Rate (39/46) 85%
Nadal made...
- 30 (6 FH, 24 BH)
- 6 Errors, comprising...
- 2 Unforced (2 BH)
- 4 Forced (3 FH, 1 BH)
- Return Rate (30/41) 73%
Break Points
Nalbandian 4/6 (4 games)
Nadal 0
Winners (including returns, excluding aces)
Nalbandian 19 (14 FH, 4 BH, 1 FHV)
Nadal 4 (2 FH, 1 BH, 1 OH)
Nalbandian's FHs - 1 cc (not clean), 3 dtl (1 runaround return, 1 pass), 7 inside-out (1 return), 1 longline, 1 drop shot and 1 around-net-post
- BHs - 1 cc, 2 dtl (1 at net) and 1 inside-in return
Nadal's FHs - 1 cc and 1 inside-out
- BH pass - 1 cc
Errors (excluding returns and serves)
Nalbandian 20
- 14 Unforced (4 FH, 9 BH, 1 FHV)
- 6 Forced (3 FH, 2 BH, 1 BHOH)
Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 51.4
Nadal 26
- 13 Unforced (6 FH, 7 BH)
- 13 Forced (8 FH, 5 BH)
Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 42.3
(Note 1: all half-volleys refer to such shots played at net. Half -volleys played from other parts of the court are included within relevant groundstroke counts)
(Note 2: The 'Unforced Error Forcefulness Index is a measure of how aggressive of intent the average UE made was. 60 is maximum, 20 is minimum. This match has been scored using a four point scale - 2 defensive, 4 neutral, 5 attacking, 6 winner attempt)
Net Points & Serve-Volley
Nalbandian was 4/7 (57%) at net
Nadal was 2/4 (50%) at net
Match Report
Literally, a two part match. After 44 points, Nalbandian's won 21 points, Nadal 25 and the score is 4-4 deuce on Nalbandian's serve. Next 44, Nalbandian wins 36 points, Nadal 8... Nadal doesn't win another game and Nalbandian doesn't lose another point on serve
First half is good quality, 'normal' baseline tennis on a quick-ish hard court - nothing untoward going on in serve-return complex and both players hitting well from the baseline. Dave is a bit more proactive in hitting wider and play is even
Second half is Nalbandian raising it up an avenue or two to sublime to leave Nadal in the dust. His aggressive returning, first strike tennis on serve and immaculate point construction from the back all stand out as top notch. Not much changes in Nadal's game from earlier
Some remarkable stats coming out of it all for Nalbandian
- He doesn't face a break point. Wins 88% first serve points and 76% seconds, serving at 59%. He wins his last 18 service points of the match
- 19 winners to 14 UEs is worth celebrating, but he has 19 winners to 20 total errors. That kind of ratio usually happens when there's a huge lot of unreturned rate (typically at least 40% and usually considerably higher) for 1 or both players. Here's Dave's rate is 27% and Nadal's 15%
- On top of that, there's the small matter of 13 errors forced out of Nadal, the same number of UEs. That high a ratio of FEs to UEs virtually never happens for a baseline match and is testament to what Nadal's up against
Furthermore, Nadal's UEs are on the hard side of being forced, hinted at by very low UEFI of 42.3. He's moved around and back like a puppet on a string... the harder errors have been marked FEs, the milder ones UEs, but overwhelming bulk come in the context of that playing dynamic
Note also Dave's exceptionally high UEFI of 51.4. He misses 8 winner attempts and 6 neutral shots (no attacking or defensive UEs), though the lines between 'neutral' and 'attacking' shot for him are blurred
Just taking the the second half, Nalbandian's figures read 12 winners, 6 UEs (4 of them winner attempts) while forcing 10 errors out of Nadal. Not much wrong with Nadal - he has just 6 UEs
- Nadal winning just 3/17 or 18% second serve points. He does well enough in other areas (in-count 64%, first serve won 70%)
Stand out points of play include -
i) Dave's returning - he smacks Nadal's second serves after moving in a step or 2 to take the ball. He hits hard but more than that, he hits wide, especially off the BH. Nadal's left to make rushed, at least moving and often running third balls to deep returns. Nadal's forced into errors, or misses not easy shots that its unreasonable to expect him to make consistently or gets ball back in play while pushed out of position and not well balanced. And courts been opened, with Dave in advanced position to start attacking... the way a big server might play the third ball, Nalbandian plays the fourth
He also has 3 return winners and for all that aggro, returns at very high 85% rate. Court looks quick-ish (its hard to tell because Dave's angles would be rushing even it weren't) and bounce is on low side. In other words, not an easy court to return on
Its not just attacking returns that do the trick. Dave gets 1st serve returns back consistently too. Nadal still goes on to dominate such points, as winning 70% such points indicate. That speaks to Nadal playing well on the whole... he's overwhelmed despite it
Full credit to Nalbandian for his returning, Nadal serves just fine
ii) Dave's first strike play on service games - on flip side, Dave swats away weak returns from Nadal for winners. Small number are very weak that he dispatches from near service line, but there's also normal, not strong (as opposed to strong) returns that he swats away. Or he hits his wide attacking shots and runs Nadal around
iii) Dave's points construction & baseline rallies - there's a beauty to the way Nalbandian goes about working a point. He hits cleanly on the whole and 'normal' baseline rallies are a contest. As in Nadal doesn't have the 'bossy' control that he's used to having. In particular, Dave's BH is upto handling Nadal's FH cc's neutrally
All that 'normal' and 'neutral' stuff though is secondary. Dave picks his moments to hit particularly wide, close to lines. Not necessarily error forcingly or even attackingly (though its more likely to draw the error than a regulation shot that can easily be reached by Nadal) but enough to open up the court at least a bit. Once that's done, he hits shots to opposite side and open court and Nadal's left to make running shots
Within a shot or two from neutral position, Dave's able to implement an attacking, fluid dynamic on which he is in charge. Nadal for his part moves with typical swiftness and has little choice but to hit back at counter-attackingly sharp angles. Its either that or be run side to side with Dave in stationary position and hope Dave misses
The baseline action is thus, very lively with Dave dominating and more in his element. When the serve or return has given him initiative (as it very often does), he starts with the wide, hitting at once
From Nadal's point of view, when dragged wide, he tends to go back cc either neutrally or counter-attackingly. dtl would be a risky option... Dave hits hard enough that Nadal's not well settled when playing his shots
The quality of Dave's showing is more in point construction than shot making. Sizable amount of the 14 winners are putaway shots (or superb returns), but the way he works Nadal over to get errors is a work of art
Nadal for his part is occasionally unwise in falling back to defend, which effectively amounts to hoping Dave misses. Dave rarely obliges and just runs him about more easily
Lively points are so common that not many stand out. 2 that do is Nadal drop shotting Dave in, Dave hitting a very finely angled BH cc run-down-shot, Nadal having no option but to go back equally fine cc to run that down as its just inches away from the net longline, leaving Dave a simple BH dtl net to finish. On another point, Nadal hits a sharply angled BH cc. Dave replies with an even more sharply angled FH cc that drags Nadal well outside doubles alley. Nadal replies with a still more sharply angled cc shot... that Dave has no option but to hit around the net post for a winner
Summing up, top class showing from Nalbandian - especially the aggressive 2nd serve returning, the point construction as he hits close to lines to keep Nadal on the run and keep the court open and the finishing is also good. Though thoroughly outclassed, Nadal is good too - solid enough off the ground and he running down balls and hitting back counter-attackingly but his opponent is just that much better at the open court play that he proactively implements
Nalbandian was unseeded and in addition to the top 2 seeds (Nadal 2, Roger Federer 1), beat seeds 14 Carlos Moya, 5 David Ferrer and 10 Richard Gasquet among others in the tournament
The previous week, Nalbandian had won the Madrid Indoors where he had again beaten Nadal and Federer, along with Novak Djokovic, Juan Martin del Potro and Tomas Berdych among others
To date, this is Nadal's only final at the event
Nalbandian won 57 points, Nadal 31
Serve Stats
Nalbandian...
- 1st serve percentage (24/41) 59%
- 1st serve points won (21/24) 88%
- 2nd serve points won (13/17) 76%
- Aces 5
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (11/41) 27%
Nadal...
- 1st serve percentage (30/47) 64%
- 1st serve points won (21/30) 70%
- 2nd serve points won (3/17) 18%
- Aces 1
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (7/47) 15%
Serve Pattern
Nalbandian served...
- to FH 32%
- to BH 68%
Nadal served...
- to FH 41%
- to BH 50%
- to Body 9%
Return Stats
Nalbandian made...
- 39 (24 FH, 15 BH), including 6 runaround FHs
- 3 Winners (2 FH, 1 BH), including 1 runaround FH
- 6 Errors, comprising...
- 3 Unforced (2 FH, 1 BH)
- 3 Forced (2 FH, 1 BH)
- Return Rate (39/46) 85%
Nadal made...
- 30 (6 FH, 24 BH)
- 6 Errors, comprising...
- 2 Unforced (2 BH)
- 4 Forced (3 FH, 1 BH)
- Return Rate (30/41) 73%
Break Points
Nalbandian 4/6 (4 games)
Nadal 0
Winners (including returns, excluding aces)
Nalbandian 19 (14 FH, 4 BH, 1 FHV)
Nadal 4 (2 FH, 1 BH, 1 OH)
Nalbandian's FHs - 1 cc (not clean), 3 dtl (1 runaround return, 1 pass), 7 inside-out (1 return), 1 longline, 1 drop shot and 1 around-net-post
- BHs - 1 cc, 2 dtl (1 at net) and 1 inside-in return
Nadal's FHs - 1 cc and 1 inside-out
- BH pass - 1 cc
Errors (excluding returns and serves)
Nalbandian 20
- 14 Unforced (4 FH, 9 BH, 1 FHV)
- 6 Forced (3 FH, 2 BH, 1 BHOH)
Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 51.4
Nadal 26
- 13 Unforced (6 FH, 7 BH)
- 13 Forced (8 FH, 5 BH)
Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 42.3
(Note 1: all half-volleys refer to such shots played at net. Half -volleys played from other parts of the court are included within relevant groundstroke counts)
(Note 2: The 'Unforced Error Forcefulness Index is a measure of how aggressive of intent the average UE made was. 60 is maximum, 20 is minimum. This match has been scored using a four point scale - 2 defensive, 4 neutral, 5 attacking, 6 winner attempt)
Net Points & Serve-Volley
Nalbandian was 4/7 (57%) at net
Nadal was 2/4 (50%) at net
Match Report
Literally, a two part match. After 44 points, Nalbandian's won 21 points, Nadal 25 and the score is 4-4 deuce on Nalbandian's serve. Next 44, Nalbandian wins 36 points, Nadal 8... Nadal doesn't win another game and Nalbandian doesn't lose another point on serve
First half is good quality, 'normal' baseline tennis on a quick-ish hard court - nothing untoward going on in serve-return complex and both players hitting well from the baseline. Dave is a bit more proactive in hitting wider and play is even
Second half is Nalbandian raising it up an avenue or two to sublime to leave Nadal in the dust. His aggressive returning, first strike tennis on serve and immaculate point construction from the back all stand out as top notch. Not much changes in Nadal's game from earlier
Some remarkable stats coming out of it all for Nalbandian
- He doesn't face a break point. Wins 88% first serve points and 76% seconds, serving at 59%. He wins his last 18 service points of the match
- 19 winners to 14 UEs is worth celebrating, but he has 19 winners to 20 total errors. That kind of ratio usually happens when there's a huge lot of unreturned rate (typically at least 40% and usually considerably higher) for 1 or both players. Here's Dave's rate is 27% and Nadal's 15%
- On top of that, there's the small matter of 13 errors forced out of Nadal, the same number of UEs. That high a ratio of FEs to UEs virtually never happens for a baseline match and is testament to what Nadal's up against
Furthermore, Nadal's UEs are on the hard side of being forced, hinted at by very low UEFI of 42.3. He's moved around and back like a puppet on a string... the harder errors have been marked FEs, the milder ones UEs, but overwhelming bulk come in the context of that playing dynamic
Note also Dave's exceptionally high UEFI of 51.4. He misses 8 winner attempts and 6 neutral shots (no attacking or defensive UEs), though the lines between 'neutral' and 'attacking' shot for him are blurred
Just taking the the second half, Nalbandian's figures read 12 winners, 6 UEs (4 of them winner attempts) while forcing 10 errors out of Nadal. Not much wrong with Nadal - he has just 6 UEs
- Nadal winning just 3/17 or 18% second serve points. He does well enough in other areas (in-count 64%, first serve won 70%)
Stand out points of play include -
i) Dave's returning - he smacks Nadal's second serves after moving in a step or 2 to take the ball. He hits hard but more than that, he hits wide, especially off the BH. Nadal's left to make rushed, at least moving and often running third balls to deep returns. Nadal's forced into errors, or misses not easy shots that its unreasonable to expect him to make consistently or gets ball back in play while pushed out of position and not well balanced. And courts been opened, with Dave in advanced position to start attacking... the way a big server might play the third ball, Nalbandian plays the fourth
He also has 3 return winners and for all that aggro, returns at very high 85% rate. Court looks quick-ish (its hard to tell because Dave's angles would be rushing even it weren't) and bounce is on low side. In other words, not an easy court to return on
Its not just attacking returns that do the trick. Dave gets 1st serve returns back consistently too. Nadal still goes on to dominate such points, as winning 70% such points indicate. That speaks to Nadal playing well on the whole... he's overwhelmed despite it
Full credit to Nalbandian for his returning, Nadal serves just fine
ii) Dave's first strike play on service games - on flip side, Dave swats away weak returns from Nadal for winners. Small number are very weak that he dispatches from near service line, but there's also normal, not strong (as opposed to strong) returns that he swats away. Or he hits his wide attacking shots and runs Nadal around
iii) Dave's points construction & baseline rallies - there's a beauty to the way Nalbandian goes about working a point. He hits cleanly on the whole and 'normal' baseline rallies are a contest. As in Nadal doesn't have the 'bossy' control that he's used to having. In particular, Dave's BH is upto handling Nadal's FH cc's neutrally
All that 'normal' and 'neutral' stuff though is secondary. Dave picks his moments to hit particularly wide, close to lines. Not necessarily error forcingly or even attackingly (though its more likely to draw the error than a regulation shot that can easily be reached by Nadal) but enough to open up the court at least a bit. Once that's done, he hits shots to opposite side and open court and Nadal's left to make running shots
Within a shot or two from neutral position, Dave's able to implement an attacking, fluid dynamic on which he is in charge. Nadal for his part moves with typical swiftness and has little choice but to hit back at counter-attackingly sharp angles. Its either that or be run side to side with Dave in stationary position and hope Dave misses
The baseline action is thus, very lively with Dave dominating and more in his element. When the serve or return has given him initiative (as it very often does), he starts with the wide, hitting at once
From Nadal's point of view, when dragged wide, he tends to go back cc either neutrally or counter-attackingly. dtl would be a risky option... Dave hits hard enough that Nadal's not well settled when playing his shots
The quality of Dave's showing is more in point construction than shot making. Sizable amount of the 14 winners are putaway shots (or superb returns), but the way he works Nadal over to get errors is a work of art
Nadal for his part is occasionally unwise in falling back to defend, which effectively amounts to hoping Dave misses. Dave rarely obliges and just runs him about more easily
Lively points are so common that not many stand out. 2 that do is Nadal drop shotting Dave in, Dave hitting a very finely angled BH cc run-down-shot, Nadal having no option but to go back equally fine cc to run that down as its just inches away from the net longline, leaving Dave a simple BH dtl net to finish. On another point, Nadal hits a sharply angled BH cc. Dave replies with an even more sharply angled FH cc that drags Nadal well outside doubles alley. Nadal replies with a still more sharply angled cc shot... that Dave has no option but to hit around the net post for a winner
Summing up, top class showing from Nalbandian - especially the aggressive 2nd serve returning, the point construction as he hits close to lines to keep Nadal on the run and keep the court open and the finishing is also good. Though thoroughly outclassed, Nadal is good too - solid enough off the ground and he running down balls and hitting back counter-attackingly but his opponent is just that much better at the open court play that he proactively implements
