Howzat for a debut: welcome to Centre Court, Mr Nalbandian

Of all things, Argentina's 20-year-old phenomenon David Nalbandian owes his place in this afternoon's Wimbledon men's final to cricket. Grass is at a premium in Argentina, devoted to the feeding of prime beef, and the whole nation possesses only seven turf courts. Every single one of them is at an exclusive club in the suburbs of Buenos Aires called Hurlingham, named after the similarly exclusive one in Fulham.

So it is to Hurlingham BA that Argentina's tennis players travel to practise grass-court skills. The national icons, Guillermo Vilas and Gabriela Sabatini, did it. So did Nalbandian, but there was one drawback. All the courts had been dug up because it is winter now in Argentina. So, at the suggestion of an Argentinian tennis writer, Guillermo Sala-tino, a court was laid out on the cricket square which is a part of the Hurlingham Club's enduring British heritage of the 19th century. And it was on the cricket fields of Buenos Aires that Nalbandian honed the strokes which have carried him into the final of the world's greatest tennis tournament.

Nalbandian is quite a yarn. This is his debut in a grass- court tournament at top level and, after playing here as a junior in 1999, he remains unbeaten at Wimbledon – at least until this afternoon – because he got into the junior semi- finals, only to be defaulted for turning up late for his match because nobody had got around to informing him the time had been changed.

"That moment for me was terrible," he recalled yesterday after winning the postponed fifth set of his semi-final against the Belgian Xavier Malisse by the surprisingly easy margin of 6-2.

Nalbandian said of that terrible moment: "We was playing two matches the same day because the day before was raining. I play quarters in the morning and the guy in the locker-room say 'You play your semi at three'. So I go to eat and come back and they say, 'No, the match was at 2.30'. I say 'Oh'."

Oh indeed. Perhaps it was the memory of that occasion lingering, but Nalbandian did not harbour any great expectations of glory when he arrived here a fortnight ago for his debut in the main draw. "I say to my coach [Gabriel Markus] 'OK, we are going to win two or three matches. That will be great for me.' I even say to my mom, 'I'm going to be home next week'."

Nalbandian, whose name is Armenian (his grandfather emigrated to Argentina) comes from the small mountain town of Urquillo in the province of Cordoba, some 450 miles from Buenos Aires. Urquillo has only one tennis court, a hard court, but the family made full use of it.

David started at five, inspired by watching Boris Becker win his first Wimbledon in 1985. "So Wimbledon, for me, it's very important," he said. Making excellent progress, Nalbandian was recruited to Argentina's junior squad, which was run at that time by Tito Vasquez, a former Argentinian player and Davis Cup captain who is now based in Britain as coach to the Lawn Tennis Association's intermediate squad. After winning the US Open junior title in 1998, however, Nalbandian found his career going into reverse and it did not revive until he took on Gabriel Markus, a former tour professional, as his coach.

Markus has a place in his nation's tennis history as the only Argentinian ever to beat Sampras. It happened at Nice in 1992 and Markus went on to win the tournament. His career ended by a knee injury, Markus turned to coaching. He has a German affinity, holds a German passport, used to be coached by Gunther Bosch, Becker's former mentor, and has instilled Germanic efficiency into Nalbandian, getting him mentally prepared for the rigours of the men's tour this year. Nalbandian has responded positively, winning his first title, in Estoril in April, and making the quarter-finals of Auckland and Buenos Aires.

Before he played his semi-final against Malisse, Nalbandian told Markus: "I know he will make 30 aces and 30 service winners, but don't worry." Vasquez said yesterday: "In Argentinian tennis, David and Guillermo Corea are two of the best we have had in a long, long time. At the age of 16 they were winning big junior tournaments. They are very competitive and have the modern game adaptable to all surfaces and they proved it by winning different events.

"David already knew very young he wanted to be a professional tennis player. He doesn't have any crazy ideas, except to practise, to sleep, to train. He is not charismatic but he knows very well how to compete. He is also a strong guy and can only get better."

Wimbledon has provided proof of that over the past two weeks. Asked how it felt to be in the final, Nalbandian was failed by his limited English. "I cannot describe that," he said. "I think this is the best weeks of my life. This is very great for me." And his nerves? "Yesterday night, after me and Malisse had won two sets each, I was a little nervous when I went to sleep. This morning I can't breakfast, I can't take dinner, I can't nothing. But when I go to the courts, I start playing good. I didn't do many mistakes."

Nalbandian has suffered the rough edge of Wimbledon's scheduling, having got to the final without ever playing on Centre Court. He said he didn't plan to go and have a look at the temple of tennis before walking out to play on it. "It's fine," he said. "I don't need it."

Nalbandian has received many messages of support and good luck from the people back home. "There have been many, many, many," he said. "But I didn't answer the phone because if I answer every one I can't sleep."

The final will be shown live in Argentina. "I hope the people watch me, enjoy the match," he said. "I think for Argentina is very important. The people there are not having a very good time right now, so I hope this will take their minds off that."