Fernando Verdasco Carmona

Born: November 15, 1983 in Madrid
Height: 1.88 m
Plays: Left-handed (two-handed backhand)

“It’s the most exciting victory of my life. Playing for my country, against the best players, it’s a dream,” said Verdasco, one of the most hardworking and long-lived players in history, after his Davis Cup clincher against José Acasuso, which gave Spain its third trophy in the most prestigious tennis team competition. Known for several years as a dangerous floater, Verdasco did in the decade of the 2000s what Nicolas Escudé, Mikhail Youzhny, and Mario Ančić had done before him – players who reached major semifinals and clinched Davis Cup victories for their countries: France, Russia, and Croatia, respectively.
The 25-year-old Verdasco hadn’t even played a major quarterfinal when Emilio Sánchez appointed him to the final against Argentina, but soon he confirmed that winning a Davis Cup clincher was worth a semifinal in one of the four biggest events. In late December 2008, instead of enjoying the success of his life, the elevated Verdasco went to Las Vegas to train intensely on his physical preparation with Gil Reyes, the former fitness coach of Andre Agassi. The rigorous work during a month when many players rest definitely paid off. Verdasco began 2009 in sensational form. Although he lost the Brisbane final to Radek Štěpánek, he avenged that defeat a few weeks later by destroying the Czech 6-4, 6-0, 6-0 in the Australian Open third round. The Spaniard advanced to the fourth round, dropping just twelve games in three matches – no one before him had progressed through the opening three rounds in Melbourne so convincingly.
In the following two rounds, Verdasco ousted higher-ranked Andy Murray (one of the main favorites for the title) in five sets and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (the 2008 runner-up) in four, playing spectacular tennis. At the time, Verdasco’s play reminded me of Marcelo Ríos when the Chilean won back-to-back titles at Indian Wells and Key Biscayne, becoming the best player in the world. Verdasco exhibited the same ease in hitting the ball off both wings in all directions at various speeds, creating very tight angles. However, Verdasco had a much better serve than Ríos. His flat serve down the middle on the ad-court was exceptionally impressive, keeping his opponents in uncertainty because his sliced serve was also effective. Thus, his 160 kph serve out-wide could be as efficient as his 220 kph bomb if the opponent guessed wrong.
In the semifinal, Verdasco faced Rafael Nadal, and the two Spanish left-handers created an unforgettable spectacle, breaking the record for the longest match played in Melbourne (previously Boris Becker defeated Omar Camporese of 1991 in a match lasting more than five hours). The 2000s saw unexpected Australian Open runners-up almost every year: Arnaud Clément (2001), Thomas Johansson (2002, champion!), Rainer  Schüttler (2003), Marcos Baghdatis (2006), Fernando González (2007), and Tsonga (2008). Verdasco nearly joined this list. He perhaps played the match of his life against Nadal, winning only one point fewer [192 vs. 193], the point that separated them: Verdasco’s double fault on the third match point. Four years later Verdasco was very close to play another major semifinal, but again lost a dramatic five-setter to a great player/eventual champion, this time to Murray.
Verdasco continued his good form following the Aussie Open ’09, impressing with his consistency in every tournament by winning two-three matches before usually losing to the top players. These defeats showed that something was missing in his game – perhaps the loss to Nadal was quintessential. Over the years he cemented his reputation as a player who might have lost to an inferior opponent quickly, but stepped up his game against higher-ranked players inside big arenas. The large audience usually stimulated him positively. Verdasco’s lone Masters 1K final, as he faced Nadal in Monaco ’10, unfortunately turned into an anticlimactic disaster, but the left-hander didn’t lose his self-confidence and the following week he captured the biggest title of his career in Barcelona. A few weeks later he lost another final in the French speaking city (Nice) – it marked the end of his super-consistent period which lasted about 1.5 years.
He has defeated all the best players in the world of the late 00s/early 10s except Roger Federer; only once out of seven official meetings he came relatively close to defeating the Swiss champion. Nadal, Murray, David Ferrer and Novak Đoković are considered as ultimate warriors in the 21st Century, specialists of winning very long matches, yet Verdasco, often accused of the lack of fighting spirit & excessive nervousness at key moments, overcame each of them trailing 1-2 in sets (Ferrer even 0-2)!
Trivia: ‘Nando’ skipped the US Open ’20 held with empty stands, ending a streak of 67 consecutive Grand Slam appearances – the second longest of all time behind his friend Feliciano López‘s 79 (the third in the list Federer has 65). Actually, the beginning of Covid-19 in March ’20 correlated with Verdasco’s decline. He was 37 at the time and his body seemed to be in a great shape because he was always a gym-lover, but he tested positive twice for the virus. Later on, he was banned for two months for taking methylphenidate. After losing his status as a Top 100 player, he couldn’t regain it, trying for two years. In 2023, as he nearly reached 40, he participated in just five ATP events, losing in the first round every time… Along with López, Verdasco won a Davis Cup clincher in 2009, making him unique in achieving this in both singles and doubles. Before him, only icons of the game such as Stan Smith, John McEnroe, Boris Becker, and Stefan Edberg had accomplished this feat in the Open Era. Both left-handed Spaniards are infamous leaders as far as the most main-level defeats are concerned, a perverse longevity effect – they also occupy the first two places in terms of main-level tournaments played – 486 López, Verdasco 39 fewer.

Career record: 559-447 [ 447 events ]
Career titles: 7
Highest ranking: No. 7
Best GS results:
Australian Open (semifinal 2009)
Wimbledon (quarterfinal 2013)
US Open (quarterfinal 2009-10)
Davis Cup champion 2008 (singles) and 2009 (doubles)