As if the upcoming Davis Cup final weren’t already hyped to excess, the ornery Argentine David Nalbandian dialed up the drama quotient a few weeks ago with controversial comments about his country’s Nov. 21-23 home showdown with Spain.
But last week the 2002 Wimbledon finalist back-pedaled from controversial insinuations that he might skip his country’s tie with world No. 1 Rafael Nadal and a talented Spanish side.
Speaking from the Madrid Masters tournament, where he lost in the round of 16, Nalbandian denied that he’d ever threatened to rule himself out.
“We are in the final and I’m going to compete,” said the 26-year-old Cordoba native. “I’ve never been in doubt about my participation."
That claim contradicts comments he made a week earlier in Sweden, where he won the Stockholm Open title. Speaking to a Buenos Aires daily newspaper, Nalbandian said his dispute with Argentina’s national tennis federation over the choice of venue for the tie might prevent him from playing at all.
"The Argentine association leaves much to be desired," Nalbandian told Clarin, an Argentinean newspaper. "I've made sacrifices to play Davis Cup and what they are doing is not very pretty to see.
"I just hope that the association continues to support the players like they have said. If not, we will see if I play in the tie."
Nalbandian was annoyed that the federation passed over his hometown of Cordoba, in central Argentina, in favor of hosting Spain in coastal city Mar del Plata, where the event will be played indoors on hardcourt. He feels the decision eliminated a potential competitive advantage for the home side.
"I feel we would benefit more by playing in conditions with a higher altitude,” Nalbandian said. "The conditions in Cordoba are faster, so we’re obviously giving Spain an advantage by playing in Mar de Plata. It wasn’t a clever decision from a sports point of view.
"Rafa and David Ferrer are arriving there on Monday night from Shanghai,” he went on, adding that the Spaniards would not have much time to adjust to the altitude of Cordoba, which is 1200 feet above sea level, if they were to play there instead of Mar del Plata.
"This decision will make things a little easier for them."
Argentina is bidding for its first-ever Davis Cup trophy after losing to the U.S. in the 1981 final in Cincinnati and losing to Russia in 2006 in Moscow.
Nalbandian, who qualified for the 2007 ATP Masters Cup as an alternate but declined to make the trip to Shanghai, also confirmed in Madrid that he would not play the year-end event again this year if he were to qualify – essentially a moot point considering his extremely long odds at finishing the year in the top eight.
"Going to Shanghai is not an objective of mine," Nalbandian said from Madrid. "I'm focused on the Davis Cup and arriving there as prepared as possible. I’m not concerned about going to the Masters Cup or not."
As he is likely to be picked to play both singles and doubles in the pressure-packed Davis Cup final, Nalbandian doesn't want to risk anything prior to the high-pressure home date.
"I feel good with my game, a lot better than I did at the start of the year,” he said. “We have a chance to win the Davis Cup and that's what I'm concentrating on. That's what I'm worrying about now."