The summer suddenly became considerably more interesting with the end of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, D.C., and not because the U.S. players who traditionally do well there were all swept out before the semifinals.

For the third consecutive year, an Argentine player won the event, triggering an outcry to change the name of Rock Creek to Rio Piedra. This time, it wasn't Juan Martin del Potro doing damage on behalf of the baby blue-and-white. It was long-lost David Nalbandian, the mercurial bon vivant who started the tournament with a ranking of No. 117 but who will now vault into the top 50. He became the first guy ranked outside the top 100 to win a tournament this year with his tidy 6-2, 7-6 (4) win over that other Lost (but dangerous) Boy of tennis, Marcos Baghdatis.

It was quite a ride for Nalbandian, the 28-year old cannon of Cordoba. And I'm not talking about this week -- I'm talking about an entire career here. Nalbandian's career has been filled with more dips and peaks than the infamous "Beast," the roller coaster at King's Island Park near Cincinnati, in the shadow of which Nalbandian probably will be laboring in a couple of weeks at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters.

Remember that time Nalbandian had the selfsame Baghdatis on the ropes in the semis of the Australian Open, only to let it slip away 6-4 in the fifth? How about that time he won the first set off Roger Federer in the French Open semis, and looked to be rolling in the second, when he had to quit because of a torn stomach muscle? Remember when he stunned everyone by making the final at Wimbledon or that five-set semifinal he lost to Andy Roddick in the semis at the U.S. Open?

This guy has been around the Grand Slam block, and he's run circles around some Masters 1000 events as well. Remember 2007 when he beat Federer and Rafael Nadal in back-to-back Masters finals (Madrid and Paris, respectively)? Nalbandian is a leading candidate for that dubious distinction, "best player never to win a major." Every pro on the tour considers him dangerous, even if he's mostly been deadly on himself.

Nalbandian makes no bones about enjoying the good life -- race cars, a blowout asada now and then, a guest appearance as a rapper in a music video created by some hometown buddies, an Argentinean hip-hop outfit. Sometimes, training has fallen by the wayside. Sometimes his focus has wavered. Remember four years ago when he appeared to dive into the tank at Wimbledon so he wouldn't miss the telecast of a World Cup match featuring Argentina?

All this dillydallying, combined with some bad luck and injuries, has kept Nalbadian's title count at a modest 11, absurdly low for so talented a player. Before this past week, he hadn't played a tournament since February. How do you explain this? It's simple -- the first thing you learn if you take the time to study the great tennis head cases of our time. He didn't expect to win this event (how could he?); therefore, he won it.

Granted, this guy has had a lot of trouble stepping up when he's raised the bar of expectations. That may happen again, in which case Rafa and the boys have little to worry about.

But Nalbandian knows the clock on his career is ticking, and he's managed to whip himself into pretty good shape following his long, injury-induced layoff. Even a good-time Charley tennis pro can't avoid maturity forever, and if Nalbandian is going to slough off his reputation as an unrealized talent, he'll have to act soon.

Nalbandian's surface of choice is hard courts, and if he can remain hard-nosed and injury-free, his multidirectional backhand, his talent for opening up the court, his deceptive quickness and pinpoint counterpunching could make life uncomfortable in the coming weeks for the men who have the one thing he doesn't -- that major title.