2008 was not just another year for “King” David. He began with three clear aims: winning a Grand Slam, the Olympic Games and the Davis Cup. However, a persistent injury in the hip prevented him from playing normally. His best performances in the big tournaments were in Australia and the US Open, where he reached the third round, as he also did in the Olympic Games in Beijing. As it happened in previous years, the last months were the best part; he won a title in Stockholm and reached the finals in the Paris Masters Series and Basel, showing a level similar to the one at the end of 2007. His worst defeat was probably the final of the Davis Cup in Mar del Plata, where he was once again the means of support of a team that did not play as expected. For the first time since 2003, he is no longer among the top-10 players (he ended 11th); but this is incidental. His level of tennis is fit for a top-5 and he will have the chance to prove it in 2009.