Although the players on the ATP circuit are essentially preparing for four Grand Slam tournaments, the Masters events across the year also hold significant weight.
At present, there are nine Masters 1000 tournaments, with Indian Wells, Canadian Open, Miami Open, Monte-Carlo Masters, Madrid Open, Cincinnati Open, Shanghai Masters and Paris Masters making up the big events.
Other tournaments are named 500 and 250 events but carry less weight when it comes to the points on offer in terms of the world rankings and are often made up by players lower down the rankings.
At this time of year, several 100 tournaments make up the calendar ahead of the French Open, with the Madrid Open currently in full swing in the Spanish capital.
In 2007, the same competition provided a remarkable fortnight for David Nalbandian, who managed to blow the field away to claim the title.
David Nalbandian archives amazing feat at Madrid Open in 2007
Some players went through their whole careers without beating the big three of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
However, Nalbandian managed to beat them all in the space of a few days and lift the Madrid Open title in swashbuckling style.
Not only that, but the Argentine was forced to come through games with Tomas Berdych and Juan Martin Del Potro to even reach the quarter-final.
It proved a remarkable victory for Nalbandian who beat Nadal and Djokovic in straight sets before winning a three-set affair against Federer in the final.
Nalbandian never won a Grand Slam
It was so bizarre that Nalbandian never managed to get over the line in one of the four big tournaments that the professional players compete in.
The closest he ever came to lifting a major title was at Wimbledon in 2002, when he was beaten in the final by Lleyton Hewitt, who simply blew him away.
At the other slams it proved a frustrating time of things, with Nalbandian failing to get beyond the semi-finals and it certainly wasn’t through a lack of trying.
Nalbandian might just be the best player to have never won a major title in tennis and the Madrid Open from 2007 serves to highlight just how capable he was.
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