By Chris Oddo/ Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Former World No. 3 David Nalbandian announced his retirement from professional tennis today at a press conference on Tuesday.
Photo Source: AFP
Former world No. 3 and Wimbledon finalist David Nalbandian announced his retirement from professional tennis at the age of 31 on Tuesday. Speaking at a press conference for his upcoming exhibition series with Rafael Nadal, Nalbandian cited injuries as the reason for his departure from the game.
Nalbandian underwent hip and shoulder surgery in May. He also underwent hip surgery in 2009, and suffered a rash of injuries that kept him out for parts of the last three seasons. He had begun training again in August, saying that he felt good except for some sensations in his shoulder.
In Nalbandian's first grass court tournament in 2002, he became the first Argentine to reach the Wimbledon final and the first South American to do so since 1959. Three years later in 2005, Nalbandian became the first Argentine to win the prestigious year-end championships since Guillermo Vilas in 1974.
More than anything, Nalbandian might be remembered for his dutiful Davis Cup resume. He amassed a 39-11 career record at the international team tennis competition, including 23-6 in singles (11-2 on clay, 7-1 on hard). He played pivotal roles in Argentina's last three runs to the Davis Cup final, in 2006, 2008 and 2011. In 2006 he defeated Marat Safin and Nikolay Davydenko on carpet in Moscow, but his team eventually fell in the final match. In 2008, he opened the final with a straight-sets win over David Ferrer at home, but his team lost the next three rubbers to fall to Spain. In 2011 he helped keep Argentina alive in Spain by winning the doubles rubber with Eduardo Schwank.
Nalbandian announced that he still plans to play his exhibitions with Nadal next month in Argentina.
Nalbandian retires with 383 career wins, 11 titles and a career-high ranking of No. 3 in the world, achieved in 2006.