Practice Video

David has been seen (and recorded) during one of his practice sessions at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, practicing with Radek Stepanek, though you won't see any of him here.  This video is singularly focused on David.  He looks to be in decent shape, from what I can see there.  Though in this video, he doesn't seem to establish much of a rhythm on his groundstrokes. Probably not much should be read into that though.

This video comes from The Daily Forehand, where the webmaster is attending the entire event.  I will probably check back throughout the week, to see what match reports he has, if any.


(Thanks Leandro for the tip)

Washington Draw

The Washington draw is out now, and can be seen here.

He has been short of tournament play since Monte Carlo, and at this stage, all ranking points seem more important than they usually do. However, if it all goes according to plan, there will be more opportunities in the next two weeks in Toronto and Cincinnati, with the hope that David builds up match practice and form.

David's section looks like this:

[7] Stanislas Wawrinka vs BYE
[WC] David Nalbandian vs Rajeev Ram
QUALIFIER vs Marco Chiudinelli
BYE vs [10] Radek Stepanek

[13] Gilles Simon vs BYE
QUALIFIER vs QUALIFIER
Benjamin Becker vs QUALIFIER
BYE vs [2] Andy Roddick

Unfortunately luck wasn't too kind to David this week.  Obviously the main problem here seems to be Stanislas Wawrinka, who I have to say has been quite a nuisance in David's career.

But let's take a step back here, and dissect the draw in terms of hypothetical matches.  Normally I would be the kind of person to completely ignore parts of draws outside of difficult sections, but after Argentina's surprise win over Russia in Davis Cup, I do have to think more than usual that "anything can happen".  Before that, I couldn't remember seeing Argentina pull off a notable upset away from home, for a long time...

David starts his Washington campaign against Rajeev Ram, the American who received very late entry into the main draw after Simon Greul pulled out of the event.  He currently has a ranking of 151, but he had been ranked in the top 100 up until only a couple of weeks ago when he failed to defend his title in Newport (that year he won it as a lucky loser).  That explains why I think of him as a grasscourt player.

I remember watching him in Newport that year but my memory is a bit hazy about this.  He seemed very much like an old-school player with an attacking game, and groundstrokes weaker than a typical modern player.  Looking at his match record for this year, it seems like he is capable to losing to all kinds of players, so this match should be quite easy.

If David makes it in the second round, he should face Stanislas Wawrinka, who is the only player to have managed to defeat David five times in a row.  This five match winning streak was within a relatively short time frame, from August 2006 to 2008.  It seems like Wawrinka is one of the few players that can outrally David on the backhand side, often creating more damage on the down-the-line shot.  It will be a difficult test for David, and I think in order to get a result, Wawrinka has to be off his game to some extent.  Wawrinka is normally quite an inconsistent player, but David does seem to bring out the best of him, the way he is always trying to create openings that end up giving Wawrinka better opportunities to hit more accurate crosscourt and down-the-line shots.

If David somehow manages to get past that, he looks to have a comfortable third round encounter with either a qualifier, Marco Chiudinelli or Radek Stepanek.  Stepanek has been out due to some kind of recurring fatigue problem (possibly mononucleosis).  He has already tried to make several comebacks, ending up on many draws and entry lists, but pulling out on the last minute.  I would say he has probably not fully recovered yet.  So it's either him or Chiudinelli, who I don't really know much about, apart from being a member of the Swiss Davis Cup team.  For good reason, it seems, since he doesn't have any notable results from this year.

Roddick is in the same quarter.  Apparently he wasn't in particularly good form this week in Los Angeles, but one would expect him to pick up form at some stage.  In any case, this really is a hypothetical scenario...

Live streaming, according to TennisTV.com for Washington starts on August 5, on Thursday.  I can't say whether this means we'll see David's second round match or not, since they are probably played over two days on Wednesday or Thursday.  But I guess, probably not since it will also depend on who else is playing on the schedule.

A New Start?

(ATP)

Here, at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park, Washington D.C., the second half of David's ATP season will begin in a couple of days. With the first of the altogether four tournaments that David is planning to play during the US hardcourt swing over the next six weeks. - The same amount he has played so far, all year. But maybe things can only get better.

I'll now leave you with Krystle, for the draw and the first two days of Washington. Hoping that when I come back, David will still be in the tournament...

New TV Interview (Part 1)

(Thanks, Andvari for finding the clip.)

Yesterday, Argentine TV channel Telefe aired this interview that David gave Gonzaleo Bonadeo. Apparently, this was only the first part and there will be more next Sunday (thanks, Tamar). Bonadeo, as some of you may remember, was the one who did a very good, informative one-hour TV interview with David about a month after his surgery (posted in three parts during June 2009).

In this new interview, David talks about the Davis Cup and what makes it so special for him, the added pressure of playing for his country, representing it, all of that is very different from playing on the Tour, he likes it and it's motivation for him.
He had his doubts about being able to win his matches in Moscow, after having played only four tournaments this season, only 15 matches [13 before Moscow, now 15] and that's very little for an athlete, especially for a tennis player, used to playing match after match. Therefore he had some serious doubts, going into the quarterfinal tie but by the time he was up by two sets against Youzhny, he knew he wasn't going to lose.
What's special about playing Davis Cup is the responsibility it means, playing for the country and the people. If he goes to Washington and loses, nobody will really care that much [I think I know a couple of people who will...] but if loses in Davis Cup, then Argentina loses. And that makes it a much bigger responsibility. Playing Davis Cup, five million people are watching at home and it's like they're there with him, on the court.
After that, David once again tells the story about the court that his grandfather built in the backyard and where David first started to play, together with family and friends. There, David grew up, playing on a fast surface, while playing tournaments on clay. But he mostly trained on a hardcourt, so he has been used to playing on a fast surface from the start and that still helps him today, adapting to fast courts like the one in Moscow.
Finally, talking about the impact of sport on people and their lives (with the World Cup and Argentina's early exit there as an example), David says that it plays an important role in people's lives, that there are many people who'd like to be athletes or part of team and identify with them, which generates expectations, joy but also sorrow, and in football more so than anywhere else.
- That's the first part.

And for the record, as of this week, David is ranked #114.

A Brief Update

Update
I just found this brief clip from Argentine TV channel TV Publica. In-between footage of David playing Davis Cup and the Copa Telmex, he talks about his injuries this season, which he puts down to his lack of match practice but also to not having been able to train enough at times. And having played merely 4 tournaments in the first 7 months of the year is of course not much but he hopes that the second half of the season will be different.
David also talks about the great relationship he has with the other guys on the Davis Cup team, he has known them all for a while and especially Schwank of course, as David's brother Javier used to be his coach. Tito Vázquez is, according to David, a very special guy with a lot of experience. And France will be a tough opponent, even more so than Russia. But the most important thing will simply be that everyone on the team will give their best, playing for Argentina.


It's already been mentioned in the comments: David is currently in training in Buenos Aires, together with Juan Monaco, Leonardo Mayer and a special sparring partner - Ernests Gulbis. Perhaps it was Gulbis' Argentine coach Hernan Gumy who made the contact. In any case, David is apparently doing well at those training sessions, as well as at the football-tennis matches that go with them, forming an unconquerable team with "Pico" Monaco.
Argentine tennis magazine Grip (which has David on the cover of its latest edition) posted a couple of photos of those sessions via their Twitter. But the quality is not too good and whether that's really David on some of those photos, well - your guess is as good as mine.

After a few more days of training and football-tennis, next week David will fly to Washington where a week from now, the draw will be made. The draw, as well as the first two days of the tournament I'm going to miss as I'll be away on family business. So I'll leave you once again in the more than capable hands of Krystle, who will be covering for me.

Apart from that, and not really surprisingly perhaps, the news came this week that David will once more finish the year, playing the Copa Argentina exhibition at the Buenos Aires Lawn Tenis Club (December 16-19).
So far, four players have announced their participation - David, Marcos Baghdatis, Carlos Moya and Marat Safin.
(Thanks, Tamar and also Anna and Ciccio.)

Davis Cup Semifinal: Argentina vs France in Lyon

(lyonmag.com)

As reported now also by the French press (e.g. L'Equipe and Eurosport France - thanks, tennisace), the Davis Cup semifinal tie between Argentina and France will be held at the Palais des Sports de Gerland in Lyon.

Until last year, the indoor sports arena with a maximum capacity of 6500 seats used to be the home of the Open Sud de France tournament, which has now been moved to Montpellier. And perhaps, this is one of the reasons that Lyon now gets to host the semifinal.
What's not really clear so far is the surface the tie will be played on, whether it's going to be on hardcourt or maybe carpet. But in any case, playing the semifinal indoors - David will like that...

Protected Ranking and Schedule Speculations...

(thanks, Krystle)

Update
As Fue Buena and a couple of other Argentine sites report, the Davis Cup semifinal tie against France will take place in Lyon at the Palais de Sports de Gerland. Indoors, and on a fast surface. The official announcement will be made tomorrow.


While David (ranked #112, as of this week) is currently preparing for the upcoming US hardcourt events and his first ever appearance at the tournament in Washington, I'll take this opportunity to focus on questions concerning David's protected ranking. And I'll also take a look at what the rest of David's season, after the US hardcourt swing and the Davis Cup semifinal, could look like...

Protected Ranking
As the ATP rulebook (.pdf download only) states, the protected ranking ends after either nine months or nine times of using it. With the starting point of those nine months defined by the first "tennis event" a player takes part in after his injury, which includes exhibitions.
In David's case, the first event was the San Juan exhibition, where he played his first match after surgery on December 12, 2009. His protected ranking should therefore expire on September 12, after the US Open. Even though so far, he has only used it for Monte Carlo (and will use it for Toronto, Cincinnati and probably also the US Open).
One of the reasons David hasn't made use of his protected ranking more often is of course that after Monte Carlo, he was out for almost three months. The important word here is 'almost'. Because for players, out for "a minimum of three months", there's the chance to apply for a so-called "freeze" of the protected ranking. But David played against Davydenko two months and three weeks after his last match at Monte Carlo. Therefore, according to the rules, he's not eligible for such a "freeze", i.e. extension of his protected ranking.
This means that once the US Open are over, David will either have to have a much better ranking that allows him to get into main draws, or he will have to rely on receiving wildcards from tournament organisers. Though getting wildcards hasn't been a problem for David, so far. And this is surely not going to change during the indoor swing, traditionally David's best part of the season.

Schedule
Up until mid-September, it's all clear (and to be found on the schedule page). David will play Washington, Toronto, Cincinnati, the US Open and then the week after the Davis Cup semifinal. (Provided that all goes well, of course and that he stays injury-free.)
After that begins the realm of speculation. But I'll try and make an educated guess here, just to provide some general idea of what the rest of David's season could look like.

After the Davis Cup semifinal (September 17-19) and his crowded schedule leading up to it, I wouldn't be surprised if David takes a break of three weeks and then begins the indoor season at Shanghai (October 11-17). Where, as they're currently making a sculpture of him (pictured above; apparently, former champions get one, including those who won the old Masters Cup event), he might rightfully expect to receive a wildcard to go with it. And it's also clear I think that David will get a wildcard for the last Masters event of the year at Paris-Bercy (November 8-14), where he's of course a former champion.
The two indoors Masters are a safe bet but it will be interesting to see what will happen in the three weeks that lie between them - or rather, how much David will play. Judging by his past appearances at the smaller indoor events that take place during those weeks, the ones he's most likely to play are Stockholm (October 18-24), Vienna (October 25-31) and especially Basel (November 1-7), which is probably another safe bet, given how regularly David has played this event in the past, having gone back there every year between 2002 and 2008.

But the question is whether David will take a week off somewhere in-between, or whether perhaps he'll try to play five weeks in a row (if his health allows it), to try and make the most of the indoor season and to improve his ranking. Looking at his plans for the next few weeks, with the longer pause now, followed by a "block" of several tournaments in a row, I think his schedule for the indoor swing could be similar, i.e. Shanghai, Stockholm, Vienna, Basel and Paris. (And the Davis Cup final in early December, should Argentina manage to beat France.)

Right now, it's all just speculation. But I'll do my best to keep you posted.