Nalbandian stuns Federer in Madrid

David Nalbandian announced his return from nearly 18 months of indifferent results as he stunned top seed Roger Federer 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 on Sunday to win the Madrid Masters.

The upset win from the world number 25, who once stood among the elite, prevented a Swiss defence of the title he lifted here a year ago.

He became the second this season to defeat the top three players in the world - Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in the same event. Djokovic did it as he won Montreal as well.

Nalbandian last won a title in May, 2006, on clay in Estoril. He lost the Madrid final in 2004 to Marat Safin.

After spending a year without a coach, the Argentine hooked up with Hernan Gumy and has been lifted his game since the summer.

Nalbandian had lost four matches against Federer since beating the Swiss for the Masters Cup title in Shanghai two years ago.