09/09/2009
11 Years after his First Grand Slam Title
Eleven year ago, the then “Prince” David made his great debut. Being only 16, he participated in the junior draw in the US Open. He started defeating Balazs Veress in the first round, 6-0 and 6-2; Robert Steckley 6-0 and 6-1; Mikhail Youznhy 6-3 and 6-2; Andy Ram (the only player who got one set) 4-6, 7-5 and 6-3; Lovro Zovko in semifinals 6-2 and 6-2; and in the final he defeated another promising junior player: Roger Federer. That was on September 13th, 1998 and the boy from Córdoba won 6-3 and 7-5. That was the first time the Argentine would win a Grand Slam junior draw on hard courts. When he came back, he was welcomed as a hero in Unquillo, the town where he was born; he went for a ride in a fire engine and almost all the people from the town were there.