The ex-World No.3 who said beating Rafael Nadal in the Paris Masters final was so easy

He was also beaten by Robin Soderling at Roland Garros in 2009 and then went out early again at both Wimbledon and the Australian Open. There were questions about whether his style could withstand so much tennis after years of heavy lifting on clay.

But true to form, Nadal answered those doubts. He came back stronger than ever, winning three Grand Slam titles in 2010 alone — Wimbledon, US Open and French Open — as well as claiming Olympic gold at Beijing two years prior.

Rafael Nadal’s 2007 Paris Masters final

Nadal faced off against David Nalbandian in the 2007 Paris Masters final, but it was one-way traffic from the start. The Argentine won in straight sets, dropping just four games and handing Nadal a rare bagel along the way.

That kind of scoreline wasn’t common for Nadal. Over his entire career, he was only bageled 15 times. Nalbandian, reflecting on the match, said: “All week I was playing great, and I don’t know why the result was so easy.”

“After I broke him, I felt that I was playing better than him. I played more relaxed, started hitting winners almost from everywhere. That gave me confidence.”

Nalbandian didn’t win another Masters title after that but did make it back to the Paris final in 2008, where he lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in three sets.

David Nalbandian compared to the Big Four despite never winning a Grand Slam

While David Nalbandian never captured a Grand Slam title, his talent was well recognised across the ATP Tour.

Former player and current Sky Sports commentator Robbie Koenig is among those who have spoken highly of the former World No. 3.

Koenig posted on social media: “Watching David Nalbandian highlights on Tennis TV. My word, that backhand was a joke! Top two alongside Novak’s [Djokovic] for me.”

Nalbandian did reach one Grand Slam final, facing Lleyton Hewitt at Wimbledon in 2002, but came up short against the top-ranked player in the world at the time.

Looking back at Rafael Nadal’s Paris Masters record

It’s something that always stood out about Nadal’s career, never winning the Paris Masters or the ATP Finals, despite all his other accomplishments.

He still put together a decent record in Paris, with 22 wins from 29 matches, though it only led to one final appearance.

Nadal did reach the semi-finals four times and made it to three quarter-finals as well, with defeats coming against players like Stan Wawrinka and Alexander Zverev.

The low point came late in his career when he was knocked out in the second round by Tommy Paul in 2022.