Sao Paulo QF: Volandri def. Nalbandian 3/6 6/3 7/5

Nalbandian was in doubt whether to tank or not the final set, he did it in the last game

Good match from Volandri. His BH is beautiful when it's on

lol

Ajde.

Saw a little of the third, Volandri was really good, and this is coming from a guy who hates him. :lol:

i have no words..

First 2 sets was really high level of play, after losing the 2nd set David looked really tired and began to play poorly in the third. Filo almost blew it.

Btw Volandri on clay has the best one handed backhand on tour by far, it's just amazing! :eek:
It's a shame the rest of his game is really poor.
Close match as expected, both are equally good on clay.

Nalbandian was in doubt whether to tank or not the final set, he did it in the last game

Good match from Volandri. His BH is beautiful when it's onCross court, up the line or overhead... it seems like it was a monster today (only saw the third set).

Nalby was very tired and Filippo was fantastic. His BH was awesome today.

Drama left and right in this one, the third set was crazy. First Volandri up 4-2, Nalby comes back, looks for sure gonna hold at 40-15, 5-5, that game goes several deuces, some clowning, some beautiful winners, and a DF from Nalbandian after like 6 game points and he gives away the break :facepalm:

Volandri then holds to love and Nalby smashes a racquet and the crowd boos. Heavily. But the handshakes were very gentlemanly.

i had a hunch

Bad for humanity.

Bad for humanity.indeed, good for mcdonalds though.

Inspite of Nalbandian proved last year that he is finished he showed on here that his best days are over. Not even to win an ATP 250. Sad but true. I hope he can win a DC shield and I can clearly understand why he feels that this is the only shield he can win as he depends of Del Potro on these days. Sad but true.

There was an interesting moment at 15 all in the 11th game. Volandri missed a cross-court backhand which should have given him the point easily. Nalbandian is a smart player and was stunned because in the next two rallies played two soft-balls on Volandri's backhand only to see two down the line winners.

Wow, Volandri's best ATP result since Buenos Aires 2008. He admittedly was a semifinalist last year in Bucharest but the Challenger-level draw there.

Expected, Fatty Bandy resting for Davis Cup in April.

Back from my vacation and Volandri into a SF. :hearts:

There was an interesting moment at 15 all in the 11th game. Volandri missed a cross-court backhand which should have given him the point easily.


it was 30-15
Nalbandian had 2 GPs after that

Quite a gutsy play from Pipo. He improves his H2H 3-1 over Nalbandian. Moved better on court, had great anticipation when Nalbandian was playing behind him, even when that play was executed on net. It is a bit of a mystery how David can't find a decent return against his weak serve. Argentinian got too easily agitated on few occasions during the match and it took a couple of games before he was able to stabilize his game a bit. Pipo backhand was a thing of beauty today, he really pampered Nalbandian undefended Achilles heel forehand wing with down the liners.

it was 30-15
Nalbandian had 2 GPs after that

Right, on deuce he made a forehand mistake directly after Volandri's return, then saved the first break point in that game with a nice serve & volley action.

Bad for humanity.

:lol:

Pippo for the title :devil:

Inspite of Nalbandian proved last year that he is finished he showed on here that his best days are over. Not even to win an ATP 250. Sad but true. I hope he can win a DC shield and I can clearly understand why he feels that this is the only shield he can win as he depends of Del Potro on these days. Sad but true.

I don´t agree. In Australia he was defeated by Isner (16 of the world) 10-8 in the fifth set and he was robbed. In Davis Cup he defeated Mayer on clay, the best surface for Mayer and the worst for David. And in Brazil, being tired and coming from Germany where he played two long matches, he was capable to beat Simon in straight sets. His tennis is still there, he has to improve his phisycal form. Remember that before Australia his last singles tournament was Stockholm. Obviously he won't win a Slam, but I think he can be top ten again :)

Wow what an awful result.

fatbandian :facepalm:

can be top ten again :)
No way, it's probably more likely that Cipolla enters it rather than Nalbandian. In 2011 he made final at Auckland 250, then he did never win more than two matches in a row per tournament, and he's 30.

Filo V is reading this.

Dedicated to him.

Filo V having an orgasm somewhere.

Quite a gutsy play from Pipo. He improves his H2H 3-1 over Nalbandian. Moved better on court, had great anticipation when Nalbandian was playing behind him, even when that play was executed on net. It is a bit of a mystery how David can't find a decent return against his weak serve. Argentinian got too easily agitated on few occasions during the match and it took a couple of games before he was able to stabilize his game a bit. Pipo backhand was a thing of beauty today, he really pampered Nalbandian undefended Achilles heel forehand wing with down the liners.
exactly
i wanted to bring the h2h up as well

the 2 previous wins come from the time when nalbandian was still world class, which simply indicates match-up issues, can't really talk about tanking here

indeed, good for mcdonalds though.

Humanity won with this comment :lol:

Where is the ACC champ? :sad:

Where is the ACC champ? :sad:

Banned until March 1.

As much as someone can dislike Volandri, there is nothing bad saying: He deserved to win, stop.

Very fantastic play from Filippo. I've never been a fan of him, but he was really funny to watch, and the backhand seriously has something charming.

Showing again that he's just too good on clay. Well done, and good luck!

:unsure: ........ :speakles: .........:unsure:.......

omg horrible outcome

Volandri played very well
I think he can beat Bellucci today

Nothing to say except that Pipo played great and he's a good clay specialist unlike Nalby

losing to volandri.... mega facepalm

one of nalbandians worst losses in a while, it seems volandri is a bad match up though. credit to volandri, he played at his best.

CdS :lol:

Pipo is a tough match up for Nalby on clay.

That single backhand :eek:

good that flyboy was banned because i would eat a ban if he posted in this thread

mega:facepalm: indeed

Always nice to see the world's most talented player lose to some mug in a 250 qf

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydJpjQOK0_I

sad to see a player of nalbandians calibre end up like he is now.

Always nice to see the world's most talented player lose to some mug in a 250 qf

A mug with a better clay backhand than Nalbandian, has to be said

A mug with a better clay backhand than Nalbandian, has to be said

Volandri's backhand better than Nalbandian? :haha:

Volandri's backhand better than Nalbandian? :haha:

On clay genius, on clay (obviously)