David Nalbandian - Playing Style

Playing Style

Nalbandian is an all-court player and a very clean ball striker. He uses powerfully struck, sharply accurate groundstrokes which have very low error-percentage. He has a decent, but not particularly dominating service game compared to top 20 players. His signature play is the wide drive that swings out of court on both sides, low and spinning. He is able to take high balls on the backhand and forehand side and return them with acute angles and low trajectories and uses these skills with great tactical intelligence. Given his adept use of angle, depth, and pace, his opponents often have difficulty breaking down one particular side.

His ground game is complemented by his anticipation, speed and ability to end points at the net. Nalbandian's trademark shot is his double-handed backhand down-the-line, which he often uses to set up a point, by either hitting a clean winner or forcing a weak return from the opponent. Nalbandian is also known to be one of the game's best returners. He is consistently able to knock balls back deep on the baseline time and time again to effectively set up the point or rip return winners off second serves, but he also has the ability to block it back deep when returning a more effective serve. He is also known to use a "chip-and-charge" technique against the opponents' serves to surprise them.