David Nalbandian: Where He Is and Where He Can Be

Eleven years ago, David Nalbandian made a promising start to his tennis career by winning the junior Wimbledon title defeating Roger Federer; 11 years zeroed down to the present, the stark contrast between the two playing careers' is pointedly evident.

My mentioning about Federer is not because I want to compare the two and I definitely haven't put Federer's name as a benchmark to gauge Nalbandian's success.

My intention is to draw a parallel between two outstanding players: one who has been doing excellently and consistently well while the other is vacillating between bouts of excellency and below par mediocrity.

For a player, who has in the past achieved positive head-to-head against some of the top ranked players, his performance especially at the slam level is hard to believe.

He has enough arsenal in his bag to rattle the mind of his opponent, has a sort of looming presence yet finds himself without a single slam to his credit.

So what is the malady that ails Nalbandian?

Not lack of talent or shortage of variety in shot making, he has plenty of those to cause an upset any time he wants, which unfortunately he doesn't manage to do.

Maybe it is a mental block or a hammering of self-confidence that is responsible for his not-so-bright manifestation of playing genius for more than once, its been seen that he has gone to lose certain matches after having the upper hand.

As a prolific tennis star, who has the unique record of winning the year end Masters Cup without conquering any of the reputed Slams, this is a problem indeed.

Take for example his most recent encounter against Rafa in the Indian Wells. During the entire length of the match, barring the bagelled third set, Rafa's discomfort was palpable on his face; yet he was the one who won it and why so? Because Nalbandian just gave it away: Not an ounce of defence or retaliation from his side.

I am positive, after that one match, not only Rafa but the others as well will have understood clearlywhat breaks Nalbandian: his own pysche.

And as long as he doesn't deal with his own internal demons and negative forces, there isn't much that Nalbandian can hope for.

At 27, he isn't exactly young but is definitely capable of winning at least "one" slam provided he takes the right step in the right direction. Self confidence which appears to be a missing link all throughout his career, is an important factor that could help him notch the elusive!

This same self confidence, had he displayed during the course of his entire playing life till now would have been instrumental in helping him in the last legs of the slams. However, its never too late and given his potential Nalby can do it. The ball is in his court and its his choice: To ace it or fault it!