What is the deal with Nalbandian? He seems to be the most talented underachiever in the ATP?

Question

Tennis

Answer 1

I wonder the same. When he steamrolled Federer and Nadal late last year in back-to-back tourneys and just barely missed out the Master's Cup despite an otherwise very mediocre year, I thought he finally would become a contender. But he just fades away at the beginning of each new year, mostly due to injuries.

I have to agree with others here that his time has passed - he is the same age as Federer and you can see even the great one declining at this age.  

So, to answer your question, injuries have played a great role in undermining his talent and he will not be a contender in the future because time is running out.

Answer 2

Nalby sometimes does great, and sometimes who knows what happens. I'd say Gasquet is probably the flukiest one. A guy with stunning talent who just chokes. His mind loses his game. Maybe they both could use better cardio endurance training.

Answer 3

I tend to disagree. O.K He got knocked out first round in Wimbledon but he is just 60 points behind Roddick for sixth place on the ATP and has been in the top 10 now for the last four years. All he has to do is time his runs up to the grand slams a bit better with the right preperation and he could possibly win any of them.

Answer 4

i completely agree with u.

when i saw him play last year and win those back-to-back titles,i was really impressed.

his angled 2 handed backhand is just too amazing to watch.

even i feel that he is really talented but the fact is that he is struggling with injuries and is just not consistent.he wins some big matches and then he is down again.

i think his time to  win a slam is definitely gone, but he is definitelely kind of unbeatable when he is playing his game.

Answer 5

How do you think that we in the UK feel, we were stuck with Henman for years. Now we have got Murray, and if his hammering by Nadal at Wimbledon is anything to go by, we still have a long way to go to find a would be champion.

Answer 6

he is hopeless!

Answer 7

His problem for most part has always been, inside his head, his poor eating habits, and plays to his liking. When his mood is on, he will display his true talent and "surprise" everyone with a huge win. For most part he doesnt even appear as if he wants to be on the court challenging these guys, and rather stuff his face. He should have had and could have had some slams under his belt.

Answer 8

No doubt he is a good player.  He has the potential to win the majors.  But his biggest problem would be consistency.  He tend to have good results in few tournament but might turn into worst in another.  Mental weakness is one of the reason why he can't keep his good level of play in most of the tournament.  He should strengthen his mental toughness.  Another reason that hurt his chances is injury.  I think the player who can overturn the match against probably the greatest player of all time in a master cup final, reached at least the semifinals in all four grand slam & win back to back master series title by beating the "big three" along the way can't be rated as a  bad player.  But time are really against him.  At 26, he only have maybe 3-5 good years ahead of him.  He should strengthen his mental toughness and reduce his injury.  Then, only he can have a chance to win at least one major title before he retired.

Answer 9

Yes, I agree that he's a pretty talented player but he falls into the same category as many others on tour.

Lack of mental toughness.

There are so many players who just cannot win big matches.

Davydenko, Berdych, Gasquet to name a few more.

They also tend to be streaky players.

Consistency is what gets you to the top.

Answer 10

I think age is the issue. Nalbandian

Is simply past his best. He may have one or two good tournaments, but he can never consistently perform, or sustain form. As for biggest underacheiver on the ATP, look no further than Richard Gasquet. He is one of my favourite players. He has bucketloads of talent, best one handed backhand in the business but not the mental strength to match. He is young, too at 21 or 22 I think. If he was stronger mentally he could be in the top 5.

Answer 11

I agree. He is one of those players that deserve to have won a Grand Slam but now probably never will. (Like Coria who 5 years ago was one of the best clay-courters but lost to Gaudio at the French)

He has missed his chance in my opinion.

Answer 12

Yah, he has dissapointing results these days. Once he beat Federer in the masters cup everything went downhill for him. I wish he would pump up his game and do better because he has the talent and potential.