Tennis: Nalbandian a tasty draw

If Auckland-bound David Nalbandian hadn't been one of the world's top tennis players, you suspect he might've ended up as a steak-chomping rally driver.

The Argentine's love of speed comes from hours driving out on the Pampas, in and around his home city of Cordoba.

One of his reasons for returning to New Zealand might be the lure of taking a rally car out the back of Northland or into the heart of Waikato - that's if anyone's willing to offer him a drive.

Before any farmer gets nervous about losing a sheep if he ploughs through a fence, Nalbandian has driven at top level.

In September 2007, he partnered professional driver Marcos Ligato and launched the Tango Rally Team.

He ended up driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX in the backblocks of Argentina.

"It's great having my own team at home, I'm happy to do that sport too. Maybe in future I will try to drive a bit more professionally, you never know. I've seen the race [Rally New Zealand] on TV. I hear New Zealand has great roads for rallying, nice and wide with a lot of grit, so much fun."

The prospect of his star player somersaulting into a paddock in a lump of speeding metal has left tournament director Richard Palmer slightly nervous.

"We'll see if we can arrange something, but we might have to be careful he's not out there rallying just before the tournament. Afterwards might be better," says Palmer.

Nalbandian's love of beef comes with the territory - Argentina has one of the world's highest consumption rates per capita at around 68kg a year.

The 27-year-old loves slapping a slab of Argentinian beef on the barbecue when hanging out with his mates - perhaps after a game of football, a regular fixture on Monday nights when he's home.

But a decision at the age of five means Nalbandian has spent little of the past decade at home.

He picked up a tennis racquet and started beating his two older brothers on the old cement courts down the road from his parents' place.

His life changed irrevocably - and he began a long period in the top reaches of the world game.

In fact, when the end of year rankings come out, it'll be the first time in seven years he's been outside the world's top 12 players.

The now world No 64 made his return at the weekend for the first time since hip surgery in May.

He won the San Juan Minero exhibition tournament (about 500km west of Cordoba) against opposition such as countryman Gaston Gaudio and Chilean Nicolas Massu. But the calibre of opposition is not worrying Nalbandian just yet.

"I'm just happy to be back with no pain which is so important after the surgery. It gives me the confidence to get on court. The operation went well but I didn't rush back. I've been building back up over the last three-four months."

Nalbandian's return for a third Heineken Open, after appearances in 2002 and 2003, has been a boost for Palmer, who currently has him listed as a wildcard.

"It's the sort of request you don't think twice about," says Palmer. "You say yes, this is someone who will add something to the tournament and is worth watching. He's a pretty classy player. "

Palmer's lucky to be able to secure him, given Nalbandian won in Sydney at the same time last year but hasn't been invited back because of his drop in ranking.

That comes as a surprise given Nalbandian has been an international headline act for years - notably as a Wimbledon finalist in 2002 but also as someone who has made it at least as far as the semifinals in all four majors.

He's also won the ATP world tour final in 2005 and Masters titles at Madrid and Paris in 2007.

The weight of his achievements are reflected in a key benchmark - his record against the world's top five players.

He has a 2-1 winning record over No 2 Rafael Nadal, is 2-0 up over fourth-ranked Andy Murray and has a 3-1 dominance over No 5 and fellow Argentinian Juan Martin del Potro.

He has an extraordinary eight wins in 18 matches against Roger Federer and has beaten third-ranked Novak Djokovic once in three appearances.

"I like to play those kind of matches," says Nalbandian. "You can't play every day against them so when you do, it's good and often tight. It's different - I think you play more adventurously. They're special."