There was a certain lack of respect for six-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer when he faced David Nalbandian today in the third round. About 60 seats in the members’ area behind and to the left of the Royal Box were largely empty for much of the Swiss' 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 win.
The match turned out to be a competitive exercise for Federer, against a rival who goes all the way back to their junior days. He got an early break in the first set before Nalbandian broke back to 3-3. Federer showed a rare bit of petulance after the break, knocking a ball to the other side of the court with a little more sting than usual, but he immediately broke right back, and it looked like Nalbandian might wilt.
After all, the Argentine had surgery for a hernia in his left groin and for a lower left leg muscle problem in mid-March, and had only played three matches since then, at Queen’s Club. But he is now a slimmed down version of the old Nalbandian; there is no longer even the hint of a paunch.
Though he required a visit from the trainer for what appeared to be an upper right leg problem, Nalbandian moved well in the final set. Federer surely believed the No. 28 seed might not have the legs to last, but he knew, as he said in his press conference after his previous match, that Nalbandian is still one of the cleanest hitters in the game. The rallies were consistently up-tempo, and Federer will be pleased with a ratio of 36 winners (not including aces) to 14 unforced errors, as well as capitalizing on five of seven break-point chances.
Things got unexpectedly entertaining in the final game, as Nalbandian saved three match points before going down for the 11th time in 19 matches with Federer. On the first two, Federer first missed a sitter smash, and then pushed a forehand wide. Nalbandian saved the third with a sweet forehand drop shot winner. But that was it, and a service return long on the fourth match point sent Federer into Monday’s round of 16 against either Nicolas Almagro or Mikhail Youzhny. Federer claimed not to know who his next opponent might be.
“I think I’m playing a bit better than last year,” he told the BBC after the match. “This year maybe I’m just a bit more confident on my serve and then obviously more relaxed from the baseline and on the return. I hope I can keep it going.”
Federer and Nalbandian had a friendly exchange when they shook hands at the net. Federer might well have thanked him for an excellent workout, because Nalbandian’s stokes are silky simple, and enable an opponent to groove on hard, flat shots.
—Tom Tebbutt