Juan Martin Del Potro
Encyclopedia
Juan Martín del Potro (ˈxwan marˈtin del ˈpotɾo) (born 23 September 1988 in Tandil) is an Argentine
professional tennis player. Del Potro achieved a top-10 ranking by the Association of Tennis Professionals
for the first time on October 6, 2008. In January 2010, he reached a career-high ranking of world no. 4. Soon after attaining this ranking, however, del Potro had to withdraw from most of the tournaments in 2010 due to wrist injury, and his ranking plummeted.
Having started playing tennis at the age of seven, del Potro won his first senior match in 2004 at the age of 15. In 2008, he became the first player in ATP history to win his first four career titles in as many tournaments. He also completed the second-longest winning streak in 2008, and the second longest by a teenager in the Open Era
, behind Rafael Nadal
—with his winning sequence spanning 23 matches over five tournaments. Del Potro captured his first Grand Slam
title at the 2009 US Open
, defeating Nadal in the semifinal, and Roger Federer
in the final
, becoming the first to beat both Federer and Nadal in the same Grand Slam tournament (later achieved by Novak Djokovic at the 2011 US Open). He became the second Argentine and the fifth-youngest man to win the US Open title in the Open Era.
, Argentina
. His father, Daniel del Potro, played semi-professional rugby union
in Argentina and is a veterinarian
. His mother, Patricia, is a teacher and he has a younger sister named Julieta. Del Potro speaks Spanish, Italian, and English. Aside from tennis, he enjoys playing football and supports the Boca Juniors
team in Argentina and Juventus in Italy. He would often dedicate time to both sports during his childhood, and Argentinian-Italian international footballer Mauro Camoranesi
remains a close friend of del Potro.
Del Potro began playing tennis at the age of seven with coach Marcelo Gómez (who also coached Tandil-born players Juan Mónaco
, Mariano Zabaleta
and Máximo González
). Del Potro's talent was discovered by Italian ex-tennis professional Ugo Colombini, who accompanied him through the initial phases of his young career, and is still today his agent and close friend. When questioned about his ambitions in tennis he replied, "I dream of winning a Grand Slam and the Davis Cup."
14s title, beating Marin Čilić
en route to a 6–2, 7–6(5) victory over Pavel Tchekov in the final. In 2003, at the age of 14, del Potro received wild cards to three ITF
Circuit events in Argentina, where he lost in straight sets in the first round of each.
In May 2004, del Potro won his first senior match, at the age of 15, at the ITF Circuit event in Buenos Aires
by defeating Matias Niemiz. He then went on to lose in three sets to Sebastián Decoud
in the second round. His next victory came over five months later against the Chilean Alvaro Loyola in a tournament in Antofagasta
. Later that year, del Potro reached the quarterfinals of the ITF Circuit event in Campinas, Brazil; recording victories over Henrique Mello and Alessandro Camarco. Del Potro won two more matches before the end of the year and saw his world ranking rise from no. 1441 in August to no. 1077 in November. He also reached the finals in the Argentina Cup and Campionati Internazionali D'Italia Junior tournaments.
Del Potro reached his first final of the ITF Junior Circuit on 11 January 2005, the Copa del Cafe (Coffee Bowl) - Junior ITF Tournament in Costa Rica
, which he lost to Robin Haase
in three sets. He was involved in a dispute with the umpire
during this match, who decided to stop the play because of rain, which del Potro believed favoured Haase. Because of the rain delays, the final set had to be played indoors; this was the first time the indoor courts had been used in the 44-year history of the youth tournament.
At the age of 16, del Potro reached his first senior singles final at the Futures tournament in Berimbau Naucalpan, Mexico, where he lost to Darko Madjarovski 6–3, 4–6, 4–6. He then went on to win consecutive titles at two Future ITF Circuit events in Santiago, Chile
, including the 26th International Junior tournament. In the first tournament, he beat Jorge Aguilar
, 6–4, 7–6(6), and in the second, he did not drop a set in the whole tournament and defeated Thiago Alves
, 6–1, 6–1, in the final, a player ranked more than 400 places higher at the time. He won his third title in his home country by defeating Damian Patriarca, who forfeited the match, at the ITF Circuit event in Buenos Aires.
Del Potro turned professional after the Italy F17 event in Bassano
, and in his first professional tournament, the Lines Trophy
in Reggio Emilia
, he reached the semifinals, where he lost to countryman Martín Vassallo Argüello
in three sets. Two tournaments later, he reached the final of the Credicard Citi MasterCard Tennis Cup
in Campos do Jordão, Brazil
, where he lost to André Sá
, 4–6, 4–6. After turning 17, he won the Montevideo Challenger
by defeating Boris Pašanski
in the final in three sets. That same year, he failed in his first attempt to qualify
for his first Grand Slam, at the US Open, losing in the first round to Paraguay
an Ramón Delgado
. Throughout 2005, del Potro jumped over 900 positions to finish with a world ranking of no. 158, largely due to winning three Futures tournaments. He was the youngest player to finish in the year-end top 200.
where he defeated Albert Portas
, before losing to Fernando González
in the second round. Later, seeded seventh, he won the Copa Club Campestre de Aguascalientes by defeating the likes of Dick Norman
and Thiago Alves
, before beating Sergio Roitman
, 3–6, 6–4, 6–3, in the final.
Del Potro qualified for the main draw of his first Grand Slam in the 2006 French Open at the age of 17. He lost in the opening round to former French Open champion and 24th seed Juan Carlos Ferrero
. Having received a wild card, in July, he reached the quarterfinals of the ATP event
in Umag
, Croatia, where he lost in three sets to the eventual champion, Stanislas Wawrinka
. In Spain, he participated in the Open Castilla y León Challenger tournament held in Segovia
, defeating top seed Fernando Verdasco
in the quarterfinals and Benjamin Becker
in the final.
Del Potro qualified for his first US Open in 2006, after being seeded ninth in the qualifying stages
, where he beat Brian Vahaly
, Wayne Arthurs, and Daniel Köllerer
in straight sets. In the US Open, he lost in the first round to fellow qualifier Alejandro Falla
of Colombia in four sets. He went on to qualify for his first ATP Masters Series
tournament in Spain, the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, where he lost 4–6, 4–6 in the first round to Joachim Johansson
. After receiving a wild card thanks to Roger Federer
, he reached the quarterfinals of the 2006 Davidoff Swiss Indoors
in Basel, Switzerland; defeating lucky loser
Tobias Clemens in the first round and George Bastl
in the second round, before losing to the eventual runner-up Fernando González
, 7–5, 4–6, 4–6. Del Potro finished 2006 as the youngest player in the top 100 at 18 years, 2 months.
, Australia, where he lost to Chris Guccione
, 7–5, 3–6, 5–7, having beaten Igor Kunitsyn
, 6–2, 6–0, earlier in the day. He then reached the second round of the Australian Open
, where he had to retire because of injury in his match against eventual finalist Fernando González
in the fifth set, with the score being 6–7(7), 6–4, 7–6(3), 4–6, 0–4 at the time of his retirement. In February, del Potro played for Argentina in the first round of the Davis Cup
against Austria, winning the fourth and definite match against Jürgen Melzer
, 7–6(4), 3–6, 6–4, 4–6, 6–2, allowing Argentina to qualify for the quarterfinals.
Del Potro defeated Feliciano López
, 6–1, 6–2, before losing to eventual semifinalist Mardy Fish
, 1–6, 6–7(9), in the second round of the indoor Regions Morgan Keegan Championships
. In his next ATP Masters event, he reached the second round of the Pacific Life Open, beating Gustavo Kuerten
in the first round, but then losing to Richard Gasquet
by a similar margin, 6–7(2), 2–6. Del Potro went further in the Sony Ericsson Open, reaching the fourth round after he defeated three top-50 players: Jonas Björkman
, Marcos Baghdatis
, and Mikhail Youzhny
, before falling to Rafael Nadal
, 0–6, 4–6. In May, he lost in the first round of the French Open to eventual champion, Nadal 5–7, 3–6, 2–6.
In his first grass-court event, del Potro beat Thomas Johansson
in two sets and reached the second round at Queen's Club
, where he lost to Nadal. He also reached the quarterfinals in Nottingham
the following week; there he beat British qualifier Jamie Baker
and Kunitsyn in the first two rounds, but lost to Ivo Karlović
, 6–7(10), 5–7, at the quarterfinal stage. At his inaugural Wimbledon Championships
, he defeated Davide Sanguinetti
, 3–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–4, in the first round, before losing, 2–6, 5–7, 1–6, to eventual champion Roger Federer
in the second round, after a rain delay in the third set.
Del Potro lost to Frank Dancevic
in three sets in the second round of the singles at the ATP event
in Indianapolis
. At the same event, partnered with Travis Parrott
in doubles, he won his first doubles tournament, defeating Teymuraz Gabashvili and Karlović, 2–6, 6–2, 10–6, in the final. He regards this as a special victory, "It was fantastic to play doubles with Parrott. I'm so happy because I've never won a doubles tournament. For the rest of my life, I will remember this tournament." Del Potro qualified for the ATP Masters Series event in Cincinnati, where he reached the third round. He defeated countryman Guillermo Cañas
in the first round and Philipp Kohlschreiber
in the second, before losing, 5–7, 6–3, 5–7, to former world no. 1 Carlos Moyá
. At that year's US Open, he defeated Nicolas Mahut
, 6–0, 6–4, 6–2, and Melzer, 6–3, 6–1, 6–4, before losing to eventual finalist and third seed Novak Djokovic
, 1–6, 3–6, 4–6, in the third round. He also reached the third round of the Madrid Masters by beating Potito Starace
, 7–5, 6–1, and Tommy Robredo
, 6–7(4), 6–4, 6–3, before losing to eventual champion David Nalbandian
in straight sets. In the last tournament of the year, the Paris Masters
, he reached the second round, where he lost to Nikolay Davydenko
, 6–7(3), 1–6. That year, del Potro was the youngest player to finish in the year-end top 50 at 19 years, 2 months.
Del Potro's first half of the season was hampered by injuries and a change of coach, starting with a first-round loss in Adelaide
, where he was the seventh seed. He then made it to the second round of the Australian Open
in January, only to retire against David Ferrer
due to an injury when the score was, 3–6, 4–6. Del Potro returned to the circuit in March, winning his first match against Jesse Levine
, 7–5, 6–1, at the Sony Ericsson Open
, before losing 4–6, 2–6, in the second round to López. Struggling with injuries, his ranking fell as low as no. 81 in April. "At the start of the year, I was playing good, but I had many injuries, many problems with my body, with my physique," said del Potro. "I changed my coach, changed my physical trainer, I changed everything."
In May, del Potro had to retire again, this time in a first-round match against Andy Murray at the Rome Masters which stood at 7–5, 4–6, 0–1 at the time of his retirement. During the second set, the Argentine allegedly made derogatory comments about Murray's mother which resulted in a complaint to the umpire. Del Potro's serve was subsequently broken three times in a row, and he suffered a back injury, which caused his retirement. In his second Grand Slam of the year, the French Open, he was eliminated in the second round by Simone Bolelli
in four sets. In June, he reached the semifinals of the Ordina Open
, losing to eventual winner and top seed Ferrer in straight sets. For the second year in a row, he was knocked out of Wimbledon in the second round; he won his first round clash with Pavel Šnobel
in straight sets, but then lost, 6–7(5), 3–6, 5–7, to Wawrinka.
After losing to Wawrinka, a successful summer followed for the Argentine. In July, del Potro and his team decided to remain in Europe to test his fitness. "We decided to play on clay courts for my back because if I start to play again on hard courts, maybe I will injure it again", he recalled. Del Potro won his first career ATP tour title at the Mercedes Cup
in Stuttgart
, defeating Gasquet in straight sets in the final. A week later, del Potro reached his second career ATP Tour final at the Austrian Open in Kitzbühel
, where he beat local hope and sixth seed Melzer, 6–2, 6–1, in less than an hour, to claim his second title in two weeks. Having competed in just two clay tournaments all of the 2007 season, he never thought he would win his first two titles on clay courts.
In August, del Potro won his third consecutive title at the Countrywide Classic
in Los Angeles, beating Andy Roddick
, 6–1, 7–6(2), in the final. After the match, Roddick praised his opponent. "[Del Potro] hits this way and this way kind of equally and he can hit it from inside out and running to it, which is a good thing for him, bad for the rest of us". A fourth consecutive title followed a week later in the Legg Mason Tennis Classic
in Washington, D.C.
, where he recorded a 6–3, 6–3 victory over Viktor Troicki
, becoming the first player in ATP history to win his first four career titles in as many tournaments. "I don't really understand what I did. It is difficult to believe that I have won four consecutive titles", del Potro said, crediting coach Franco Davín
for his impressive run. "He changed my game. He changed my mind. He changed everything. When I play and I see him in the stands, it gives me confidence. I can play relaxed."
At the 2008 US Open, del Potro progressed to the third round, where he won his first match to five sets in the circuit against Gilles Simon
to reach the round of 16. He went on to defeat Japanese teenager Kei Nishikori
in straight sets, 6–3, 6–4, 6–3. In the quarterfinals, he was stopped by eventual finalist Murray, losing after almost four hours. The defeat came after 23 consecutive victories: the second-longest winning streak in 2008 and the longest winning streak by a player outside the top 10 in the last 20 years.
Del Potro was selected to play his first home-based Davis Cup tie, between Argentina
and Russia
, which took place on 19–21 September. He won his first singles match against Davydenko in three sets, 6–1, 6–4, 6–2. He also won the fifth and deciding match against Igor Andreev
in straight sets, 6–4, 6–2, 6–1, booking Argentina a place in the final.
At the AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships
, he made the final by defeating 11th seed Jarkko Nieminen
, top seed and defending champion Ferrer, and fourth seed Gasquet. He was defeated by Tomáš Berdych
, 1–6, 4–6, in the final. At the Madrid Masters
, he lost in the quarterfinals in straight sets to Federer. He reached the semifinals of his next tournament, the Davidoff Swiss Indoors
, before losing to countryman Nalbandian, 4–6, 4–6. He was beaten by Nalbandian again in his next tournament, this time it was in the second round of the Paris Masters
. Del Potro blamed fatigue for his defeat, "It's difficult to play the last tournament of the year. I was tired, my mind was in Argentina [the venue for the Davis Cup final]". This left del Potro's qualification for the 2008 Tennis Masters Cup out of his hands; fortunately for him, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat James Blake
in the semifinals, which was enough to ensure his place at the year-end event.
Del Potro won one match at the Masters Cup, against Tsonga, but lost his other two matches against the higher-ranked Djokovic and Davydenko, meaning that he exited the tournament in the round-robin stage
. This was his last event of the year on the ATP Tour. He went on to lose one match, 6–4, 6–7(2), 6–7(4), 3–6, in the Davis Cup final, against López, as his team succumbed to a 3–1 loss against Spain
. He was forced to withdraw from his second match due to a thigh injury and was replaced by José Acasuso
. Nonetheless, del Potro enjoyed a successful season; winning four titles and finishing 2008 as the youngest player in the top 10, top-ranked Argentine, and highest-ranked South American.
in Auckland
, New Zealand, del Potro was the top seed for the tournament. He defeated American Sam Querrey
in the final, 6–4, 6–4, to win the title, the fifth of his career. Seeded eighth at the Australian Open
, he beat Marin Čilić
in the fourth round to become the first player to reach the quarterfinals that year. Del Potro's tournament ended in his next match, when he lost in straight sets to Federer, 3–6, 0–6, 0–6. At the BNP Paribas Open
, the sixth seed del Potro advanced to the quarterfinals, where he was defeated by world no. 1 Nadal. Del Potro avenged that loss the following week at the Sony Ericsson Open
, where he came back from a double break down in the third set at 0–3 to defeat Nadal in the quarterfinals. This was the first time del Potro had defeated Nadal in five meetings. Despite a 1–6, 7–5, 2–6 loss in the semifinals to Murray, del Potro reached a career-high ranking of world no. 5.
In the clay-court season, del Potro was eliminated in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters
by Ivan Ljubičić
. In Rome
, del Potro beat Troicki and Wawrinka to advance to the quarterfinals, where he was defeated by defending champion Djokovic in straight sets. This meant del Potro's head-to-head record with the Serb was now 0–3. Del Potro then played at the 2009 Madrid Masters
. After defeating Murray for the first time in the quarterfinals, he lost to Federer in the semifinals, 3–6, 4–6. At the French Open
, where he was fifth seed, del Potro defeated Michaël Llodra
, Troicki, Andreev, and ninth seed Tsonga en route to the quarterfinals. He then defeated three-time former quarterfinalist Robredo to get to his first semifinal. He was defeated in a close semifinal, where he was leading by a set twice, 6–3, 6–7(2), 6–2, 1–6, 4–6, by eventual champion Federer who, after their match, said: "[Del Potro] is young and strong, I have a lot of respect for him." Prior to this encounter, del Potro had never taken a set from Federer in their five previous career meetings.
At the 2009 Wimbledon Championships
, his poor grass-court form from the past continued on, as he went down to unseeded Lleyton Hewitt
, 3–6, 5–7, 5–7, in the second round. In the Davis Cup quarter-final against the Czech Republic
, del Potro won his matches against Ivo Minář
and Berdych in straight sets, but Argentina still lost the tie 2–3, eliminating them from the competition. A few weeks later, he defeated Hewitt and Fernando González
en route to the Washington
final. He successfully defended his title against top-seeded Wimbledon finalist Roddick, 3–6, 7–5, 7–6(6), to win his second tournament of the year and become the first player since Andre Agassi
to win back-to-back Washington titles. Del Potro played the following week at the Masters 1000
in Montreal
, where he was seeded sixth, defeating world no. 2 Nadal in the quarterfinals, 7–6(5), 6–1, his second win in a row over Nadal. He then defeated Roddick in the semifinals, 4–6, 6–2, 7–5, saving a match point, to advance to his first Masters 1000 final, and to improve his head-to-head record against Roddick to 3–0. In the final, he lost against Murray, 7–6(4), 6–7(3), 1–6. He later withdrew from the next Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati
due to fatigue.
Seeded sixth at the 2009 US Open
, del Potro began by defeating Mónaco and Melzer in straight sets, before dropping a set but defeating Köllerer to reach the fourth round. He defeated a resurgent Ferrero, 6–3, 6–3, 6–3, to advance to the quarterfinals for the second consecutive year. Del Potro then advanced to the semifinals by defeating Čilić, 4–6, 6–3, 6–2, 6–1. Del Potro was down a set and a break, before winning 17 of the final 20 games to win the match. His advance to the semifinals ensured his return to the top 5 in the world rankings. He then defeated world no. 3 and reigning Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal
, 6–2, 6–2, 6–2, in the semifinals to reach his first Grand Slam final. This was his third consecutive victory over Nadal and made him the first Argentine to reach a Grand Slam singles final since Mariano Puerta
at the 2005 French Open. Del Potro went one better, rallying from a set and a break down to defeat world no. 1 and five-time defending champion Roger Federer
, 3–6, 7–6(5), 4–6, 7–6(4), 6–2; his first victory over Federer after six previous defeats, and Federer's first loss in the US Open since 2003. "Since [I was] young, I dream with this and take trophy with me", said del Potro, who became the first Argentine male to win the title since Guillermo Vilas
in 1977. "I did my dream, and it's unbelievable moment. It's amazing match, amazing people. Everything is perfect." After the match, Federer praised del Potro; "I thought he hung in there and gave himself chances and, in the end, was the better man."
He is the first player since countryman David Nalbandian
to defeat Federer at the US Open, and at 198 cm (6 ft 6 in), he is the tallest ever Grand Slam champion. Besides Nadal, Del Potro is the only player to defeat Federer in a Grand Slam final, and the first player to defeat both Nadal and Federer in the same Grand Slam tournament.
Dick Enberg
hosted the post-match ceremony during which a victorious Del Potro requested to address his fans in Spanish
. Enberg declined the request saying that he was running out of time, but went on to list the corporate sponsored prizes Del Potro won. A couple of minutes later, Del Potro made the same request again, and only then did Enberg relent saying, "Very quickly, in Spanish, he wants to say hello to his friends here and in Argentina
". An emotional Del Potro finally spoke a few sentences in Spanish to a cheering crowd. Many viewers expressed disappointment with Enberg and broadcaster CBS
over the interview. A CBS executive later defended Enberg, noting that the contract with the United States Tennis Association
required that certain sponsors receive time during the ceremony.
In his first match since the US Open, Del Potro was upset by world no. 189 Édouard Roger-Vasselin
in straight sets at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships
in Tokyo. He then lost his second straight match to Melzer in the second round at the Masters 1000 event in Shanghai
, retiring while trailing, 5–7, 1–2. This retirement caused concerns over the length of the tennis season. He had to retire again in the Paris Masters
quarterfinals when down 0-4 to Radek Štěpánek
due to an abdominal injury. In November, del Potro competed in the ATP World Tour Finals
, where he lost his first round-robin match against Andy Murray, 3–6, 6–3, 2–6, but he managed to defeat Fernando Verdasco
, 6–4, 3–6, 7–6(1), in his second match to keep his hopes alive. After defeating Roger Federer
, 6–2, 6–7(5), 6–3, in the following match, he qualified for the semifinals, ousting Murray by the slimmest possible margin of one game. He defeated Robin Söderling
in the semifinals, 6–7(1), 6–3, 7–6(3), before losing to Nikolay Davydenko
, 3–6, 4–6, in the final. Del Potro finished 2009 as the youngest player in the top 10, top-ranked Argentine, and highest-ranked South American for the second consecutive year.
in Melbourne, Australia with a 6–3, 6–3 win over Croatian world no. 24 Ivan Ljubičić
. On January 11, he moved up to a career high world no. 4. He was scheduled to face Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on day 2 of the Kooyong Classic exhibition tournament, but withdrew due to a wrist injury. He came into the 2010 Australian Open
with the injury not healed, and was forced to take a month off after the event. In the fourth round, he fell to eventual semifinalist Marin Čilić
, 7–5, 4–6, 5–7, 7–5, 3–6.
Following the Australian Open loss, del Potro missed several tournaments, including the Masters
tournaments at Indian Wells
and Miami
, which were touted as potential return dates, due to the persistent wrist injury. Even though he withdrew from the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters
, he regained the world no. 4 ranking, due to Murray's early exit in the second round. He then withdrew from Barcelona
and the Rome Masters
. He was going to return the week beginning May 2. However, on May 4 del Potro took the option of having an operation to fix the injury. On May 19, del Potro said he would not defend his US Open title, but if all went well, he would appear after the event, targeting the Paris Masters as a possible comeback. However, on July 22, the USTA stated that del Potro was expected to defend his US Open
crown. The player himself confirmed that his comeback to the tour would be the Thailand Open and said nothing about the New York event. On August 2, del Potro returned to the practice courts. A week before the start of the US Open, after practicing for two weeks, del Potro withdrew from the event, as he felt he was not ready to compete at the highest level.
After the nine-month break, del Potro confirmed that he would make his return at the 2010 PTT Thailand Open
. In his return match, he lost in the first round, 6–7(7), 4–6, to Olivier Rochus
. He then also played at the 2010 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships
, but again lost in the opening round, this time to Feliciano Lopez
, 3–6, 0–6.
as a wildcard entry. In the second round, Del Potro was defeated by Florian Mayer
of Germany, 2–6, 5–7. His next tournament would be the first Grand Slam of the year at the 2011 Australian Open
, where Del Potro was defeated by 23rd seed Marcos Baghdatis
in the second round, 1–6, 3–6, 6–4, 3–6. As a result, Del Potro slipped further down the rankings to no. 485.
After the Australian Open, he participated in the SAP Open
in San Jose, where he was accepted into the main draw via special exemptions (SE). He reached the semifinals, after defeating Gabashvili, Lacko, and Hewitt. There, he lost to top seed Fernando Verdasco
in straight sets. Del Potro's next scheduled tournament was the 2011 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup
, where he was again accepted into the main draw via special exemptions. Here, he made his second consecutive ATP semifinals by defeating sixth seed John Isner
, Ivan Dodig
, and qualifier Michael Russell
. In the semifinals, he lost to top seed, world no. 8 and eventual champion Andy Roddick
, 3–6, 4–6. To continue preparing for his first ATP Masters event since 2009, Del Potro entered the 2011 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships
. He defeated Richard Berankis in the first round, 6–4, 6–1, Teymuraz Gabashvili in the second round, 6–1, 6–1, fifth seed Kevin Anderson
, 6–4, 6–4, and second seed Mardy Fish
, 6–1, 7–5, to advance to an ATP-level final stage of a tournament since 2009 at the Barclays World Tour Finals in London. In the final of this 250 tournament, he defeated an erratic Janko Tipsarević
, 6–4, 6–4, to get back in the winners circle.
Del Potro's next tournament was the ATP Masters at the 2011 BNP Paribas Open
. He reached the semifinals, where he lost to top seeded Rafael Nadal
in straight sets, 4-6, 4-6. Del Potro then flew to Key Biscayne, Miami to participate in the second ATP Masters of the year at the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open
. Del Potro made it to the fourth round, where he played Mardy Fish
and lost, 5–7, 6–7(5).
He then played in 2011 Estoril Open
, which was Del Potro's first tournament on clay since he lost the 2009 Roland Garros semifinal to the eventual champion Roger Federer
. In Estoril, he defeated Fernando Verdasco
, 6–2, 6–2, in the final. On the way to the final, del Potro defeated top seeded Robin Söderling
, 6–4, 7–5, and dropped just one set in his five matches. After suffering an 8-millimeter tear in his left rectus, del Potro withdrew from Madrid and did not participate in the Rome Master, but has confirmed that he would play the French Open. Del Potro lost to Novak Djokovic
, 3-6, 6-3, 3-6, 2-6, in the third round.
Del Potro reached the round of 16 at Wimbledon
for the first time by defeating Flavio Cipolla
, 6–1, 6–4, 6–3, in the first round, Olivier Rochus
, 6–7(7), 6–1, 6–0, 6–4, and Gilles Simon
, 7–6(8), 7–6(5), 7–5. He then lost to world no. 1 Rafael Nadal
, 6–7(6), 6–3, 6–7(4), 4–6, in the fourth round. Del Potro returned to the top 20 at world no. 19 for the first time in nearly a year. His next tournament was the Farmers Classic in Los Angeles, where he received a first-round bye as the second seed. He defeated James Blake
, 6–4, 7–6, but was defeated 2-6, 4-6, by Ernests Gulbis
in the quarterfinals.
At the 2011 Rogers Cup
, seeded 16th, del Potro defeated Jarkko Nieminen
, 6–4, 6–0, before losing 3–6, 4–6 to Marin Čilić
in the second round.
At the Western & Southern Masters tournament, del Potro advanced to the second round with a 4–1 ret. result over Andreas Seppi
, before losing to Roger Federer
, 3–6, 5–7, snapping the two-match winning streak he had against his rival.
Del Potro entered the 2011 US Open
seeded 18th. He beat Filippo Volandri
, 6-3, 6-1, 6-1, in the first round and Diego Junqueira
, 6-2, 6-1, 7-5, in the second, before losing, 6-4, 6-7(5), 2-6, 6-7(3), to Gilles Simon
in the third round.
He won both of his matches in the Davis Cup tie against Serbia in September over Janko Tipsarevic
and Novak Djokovic
, helping Argentina to a 3-2 victory over Serbia in the semifinals.
and deep, flat/topspin groundstroke
s. His forehand
shot is one of his main strengths and possibly the most powerful in the game, capable of frequently generating speeds of 100 mph, and he also possesses a very consistent and powerful double-handed backhand
. Del Potro's height allows him to get a powerful first serve (often clocked in the mid 130s, and maxing out at 147 mph (M1000 Madrid, vs Murray), and makes it easier for him to return high topspin
balls. Del Potro's best surfaces are hard and clay, while his game on grass has matured somewhat it is still his weakest surface.
BLX Pro Tour Racquet for the 2010 season, but after returning from his wrist injury switched back to his Wilson
K Factor 6.1 95 (16x18) and strings with Luxilon Big Banger Alu Power at 62 lb, and is sponsored by Nike
. He often wore a sleeveless shirt but starting at the 2011 season has worn one with sleeves, a double-wide wristband
, a bandana
, Nike Zoom Breathe 2K11 shoes and a pair of woven shorts when on the court.
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
professional tennis player. Del Potro achieved a top-10 ranking by the Association of Tennis Professionals
Association of Tennis Professionals
The Association of Tennis Professionals or ATP was formed in 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale to protect the interests of male professional tennis players. Since 1990, the association has organized the worldwide tennis tour for men and linked the title of the tour with the...
for the first time on October 6, 2008. In January 2010, he reached a career-high ranking of world no. 4. Soon after attaining this ranking, however, del Potro had to withdraw from most of the tournaments in 2010 due to wrist injury, and his ranking plummeted.
Having started playing tennis at the age of seven, del Potro won his first senior match in 2004 at the age of 15. In 2008, he became the first player in ATP history to win his first four career titles in as many tournaments. He also completed the second-longest winning streak in 2008, and the second longest by a teenager in the Open Era
Open era
Open era or Open Era may refer to:* Open Era , the period since 1968 where professionals can compete in Grand Slams* Glasnost era, the increased openness in the Soviet Union from the mid-1980s...
, behind Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal
Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...
—with his winning sequence spanning 23 matches over five tournaments. Del Potro captured his first Grand Slam
Grand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
title at the 2009 US Open
2009 US Open (tennis)
The 2009 US Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts, held from August 31 to September 14, 2009 in the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows, New York City, United States. Originally, it was scheduled to end with the mens' singles final match on Sunday,...
, defeating Nadal in the semifinal, and Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
in the final
2009 US Open - Men's Singles
Roger Federer was the defending champion, but was defeated by Juan Martín del Potro in the final, 6–3, 6–7, 6–4, 6–7, 2–6.-Seeds:# Roger Federer # Andy Murray # Rafael Nadal # Novak Djokovic ...
, becoming the first to beat both Federer and Nadal in the same Grand Slam tournament (later achieved by Novak Djokovic at the 2011 US Open). He became the second Argentine and the fifth-youngest man to win the US Open title in the Open Era.
Early life
Juan Martín del Potro was born in TandilTandil
-Place name:The name of the city comes from the Mapuche words tan , and lil . It is probably a reference to the Piedra Movediza , a large boulder which stood seemingly miraculously balanced on the edge of a rocky foothill. The Moving Stone toppled on February 29, 1912, and split into two pieces at...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. His father, Daniel del Potro, played semi-professional rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
in Argentina and is a veterinarian
Veterinarian
A veterinary physician, colloquially called a vet, shortened from veterinarian or veterinary surgeon , is a professional who treats disease, disorder and injury in animals....
. His mother, Patricia, is a teacher and he has a younger sister named Julieta. Del Potro speaks Spanish, Italian, and English. Aside from tennis, he enjoys playing football and supports the Boca Juniors
Boca Juniors
Club Atlético Boca Juniors is an Argentine sports club based in La Boca neighborhood of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its professional football team, which currently plays in the Primera División....
team in Argentina and Juventus in Italy. He would often dedicate time to both sports during his childhood, and Argentinian-Italian international footballer Mauro Camoranesi
Mauro Camoranesi
Mauro Camoranesi, Ufficiale OMRI is an Italian Argentine World Cup-winning footballer who plays for Lanús in the Argentine Primera División. He is a midfielder, usually on the right wing...
remains a close friend of del Potro.
Del Potro began playing tennis at the age of seven with coach Marcelo Gómez (who also coached Tandil-born players Juan Mónaco
Juan Mónaco
Juan Mónaco , nicknamed "Pico", is a male tennis player from Argentina. He reached a career-high ranking of World No. 14 on February 4, 2008. He is sponsored by Adidas and Yonex.-Biography:...
, Mariano Zabaleta
Mariano Zabaleta
Mariano Zabaleta is a retired professional male tennis player from Argentina. He turned professional in 1996. He had an unusual but effective service motion and fighting spirit...
and Máximo González
Máximo González
Máximo González Mereira is a professional tennis player from Argentina. His career high ranking is #58, achieved on July 6, 2009.- Early career through 2006 :...
). Del Potro's talent was discovered by Italian ex-tennis professional Ugo Colombini, who accompanied him through the initial phases of his young career, and is still today his agent and close friend. When questioned about his ambitions in tennis he replied, "I dream of winning a Grand Slam and the Davis Cup."
2002–2005
As a junior in 2002, del Potro won the Orange BowlOrange Bowl (tennis)
The Orange Bowl is an annual college football bowl game. Orange Bowl may also refer to:* Miami Orange Bowl, a demolished stadium formerly in Miami, Florida* One of two tennis tournaments, one for juniors and the other for youth...
14s title, beating Marin Čilić
Marin Cilic
Marin Čilić , is a Croatian professional tennis player. His career high ATP ranking is no. 9, achieved on 22 February 2010, following his best-ever performance at a Grand Slam, reaching the semi-finals in the 2010 Australian Open...
en route to a 6–2, 7–6(5) victory over Pavel Tchekov in the final. In 2003, at the age of 14, del Potro received wild cards to three ITF
International Tennis Federation
The International Tennis Federation is the governing body of world tennis, made up of 205 national tennis associations.It was established as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by 12 national associations meeting at a conference in Paris, France on 1 March 1913...
Circuit events in Argentina, where he lost in straight sets in the first round of each.
In May 2004, del Potro won his first senior match, at the age of 15, at the ITF Circuit event in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
by defeating Matias Niemiz. He then went on to lose in three sets to Sebastián Decoud
Sebastian Decoud
Sebastián Decoud is a professional Argentine tennis player. He is a late-blooming pro who is on the verge of cracking into the top-200 in singles in 2008, and did crack the top-200 in doubles in March, 2008....
in the second round. His next victory came over five months later against the Chilean Alvaro Loyola in a tournament in Antofagasta
Antofagasta
Antofagasta is a port city in northern Chile, about north of Santiago. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2002 census, the city has a population of 296,905...
. Later that year, del Potro reached the quarterfinals of the ITF Circuit event in Campinas, Brazil; recording victories over Henrique Mello and Alessandro Camarco. Del Potro won two more matches before the end of the year and saw his world ranking rise from no. 1441 in August to no. 1077 in November. He also reached the finals in the Argentina Cup and Campionati Internazionali D'Italia Junior tournaments.
Del Potro reached his first final of the ITF Junior Circuit on 11 January 2005, the Copa del Cafe (Coffee Bowl) - Junior ITF Tournament in Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
, which he lost to Robin Haase
Robin Haase
Robin Haase is a Dutch tennis player. Haase is currently the highest-ranked Dutch player, with his career high of No. 41 coming on 29 August 2011. He is endorsed by Head and SNS Reaal.-Career:...
in three sets. He was involved in a dispute with the umpire
Official (tennis)
In tennis, an official is a person who ensures that a match or tournament is conducted according to the International Tennis Federation Rules of Tennis and other competition regulations....
during this match, who decided to stop the play because of rain, which del Potro believed favoured Haase. Because of the rain delays, the final set had to be played indoors; this was the first time the indoor courts had been used in the 44-year history of the youth tournament.
At the age of 16, del Potro reached his first senior singles final at the Futures tournament in Berimbau Naucalpan, Mexico, where he lost to Darko Madjarovski 6–3, 4–6, 4–6. He then went on to win consecutive titles at two Future ITF Circuit events in Santiago, Chile
Santiago, Chile
Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...
, including the 26th International Junior tournament. In the first tournament, he beat Jorge Aguilar
Jorge Aguilar
Jorge Roberto Aguilar Mondaca is a Chilean professional tennis player. In 2001 won the U16 world championship with best friend Guillermo Hormazábal and Carlos Rios....
, 6–4, 7–6(6), and in the second, he did not drop a set in the whole tournament and defeated Thiago Alves
Thiago Alves (tennis)
Thiago Alves is a professional tennis player who competes mainly on the ITF Tour. His career high rank was #88, achieved on July 13, 2009.- In Grand Slams :He has made four Grand Slam main draw appearances, qualifying into the...
, 6–1, 6–1, in the final, a player ranked more than 400 places higher at the time. He won his third title in his home country by defeating Damian Patriarca, who forfeited the match, at the ITF Circuit event in Buenos Aires.
Del Potro turned professional after the Italy F17 event in Bassano
Bassano del Grappa
Bassano del Grappa is a city and comune in the province of Vicenza, region Veneto, in northern Italy. It bounds the communes of Cassola, Marostica, Solagna, Pove del Grappa, Romano d'Ezzelino, Campolongo sul Brenta, Conco, Rosà, Cartigliano and Nove...
, and in his first professional tournament, the Lines Trophy
Lines Trophy
-Women's singles:-Women's doubles:-External links:**...
in Reggio Emilia
Reggio Emilia
Reggio Emilia is an affluent city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 170,000 inhabitants and is the main comune of the Province of Reggio Emilia....
, he reached the semifinals, where he lost to countryman Martín Vassallo Argüello
Martín Vassallo Argüello
Martin Miguel Vassallo Argüello is a professional male tennis player from Argentina. His career-high ATP entry ranking is #47 .He turned pro in 1999...
in three sets. Two tournaments later, he reached the final of the Credicard Citi MasterCard Tennis Cup
Credicard Citi Mastercard Tennis Cup
The Credicard Citi MasterCard Tennis Cup is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It is currently part of the Association of Tennis Professionals Challenger Tour...
in Campos do Jordão, Brazil
Campos do Jordão
Campos do Jordão is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population in 2003 was 47,903 and the area is 290.27 km². The elevation is 1,628 m....
, where he lost to André Sá
André Sá
André Rezende Sá is a professional Brazilian tennis player. He is number 29 for doubles, and 467 for singles.-Personal:...
, 4–6, 4–6. After turning 17, he won the Montevideo Challenger
ATP Montevideo
The ATP Montevideo was a men's tennis tournament played in Montevideo, Uruguay. The event was part of the ATP Tour in 1994 and 1995. The tournament returned in 1998 as a Challenger event. It was played in late October/early November on outdoor clay courts....
by defeating Boris Pašanski
Boris Pašanski
Boris Pašanski is a professional tennis player on the ATP Tour. He was born in Belgrade, Serbia, in the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on November 3, 1982....
in the final in three sets. That same year, he failed in his first attempt to qualify
2005 U.S. Open - Men's Qualifying Singles
The 2005 US Open Men's Singles Qualifying was the qualifying competition for the 2005 US Open – Men's Singles. Sixteen players qualified for the main draw.-Seeds:# Robin Vik # Daniele Bracciali # Arnaud Clément...
for his first Grand Slam, at the US Open, losing in the first round to Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
an Ramón Delgado
Ramon Delgado
Ramón Delgado is a tennis player from Paraguay, who turned professional in 1995. At the 1998 French Open, he defeated Pete Sampras in the second round. He has not won a single title during his career so far...
. Throughout 2005, del Potro jumped over 900 positions to finish with a world ranking of no. 158, largely due to winning three Futures tournaments. He was the youngest player to finish in the year-end top 200.
2006
In February, del Potro played his first ATP tour event in Viña del MarViña del Mar
Viña del Mar , is a city and commune on central Chile's Pacific coast. Its long stretches of white sandy beaches are a major attraction for national and international tourists. The city is Chile's main tourist attraction. Known as "La Ciudad Jardín" , Viña del Mar is a Chilean Municipality located...
where he defeated Albert Portas
Albert Portas
Albert Portas Soy is a former professional tennis player.-Career:Portas turned professional in 1994...
, before losing to Fernando González
Fernando González
----Fernando Francisco González Ciuffardi is a professional tennis player from Chile. He is known for having one of the hardest forehands on the circuit. In Spanish he is called El Bombardero de La Reina and Mano de Piedra...
in the second round. Later, seeded seventh, he won the Copa Club Campestre de Aguascalientes by defeating the likes of Dick Norman
Dick Norman
Dick Norman is a professional tennis player. He has achieved a degree of folk popularity among tennis fans due to his height , his left-handed power game and, in the last few years, his age .Turning professional in 1991, Norman notched up only his 14th Grand Slam...
and Thiago Alves
Thiago Alves
Thiago Alves d'Araujo is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. He started training in Muay Thai when he was 15 and mixed martial arts at 17. He is a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and has been described as a "Muay Thai wrecking machine". As of July 2011, He is currently ranked the #10 welterweight...
, before beating Sergio Roitman
Sergio Roitman
Sergio Andres Roitman in Buenos Aires, Argentina, nicknamed Escopeta is a retired professional tennis player from Argentina....
, 3–6, 6–4, 6–3, in the final.
Del Potro qualified for the main draw of his first Grand Slam in the 2006 French Open at the age of 17. He lost in the opening round to former French Open champion and 24th seed Juan Carlos Ferrero
Juan Carlos Ferrero
Juan Carlos Ferrero Donat is a professional tennis player, and a former world no. 1 player, from Spain. He captured the men's singles title at the 2003 French Open, and in September of that year, he became the 21st player to hold the world no. 1 ranking. He was also the runner-up at the 2002...
. Having received a wild card, in July, he reached the quarterfinals of the ATP event
Croatia Open Umag
The ATP Studena Croatia Open is a tennis tournament held in Umag, Croatia that is part of the 250 series of the ATP Tour.The first Croatia Open was held in 1990 as the Yugoslavia Open and has been played every year since. It is played on red clay courts. Carlos Moyá has won the tournament a record...
in Umag
Umag
Umag is a coastal city in Istria, Croatia.The city hosts the yearly Croatia Open ATP tennis tournament on clay courts.-Geography:It is the westernmost city of Croatia, and the municipality includes Savudrija which is westernmost point of Croatia....
, Croatia, where he lost in three sets to the eventual champion, Stanislas Wawrinka
Stanislas Wawrinka
Stanislas Wawrinka is a Swiss professional tennis player. He also holds German citizenship as his father is German. His career ranking high is no. 9, achieved on 9 June 2008. He considers clay his best surface and his backhand his best shot...
. In Spain, he participated in the Open Castilla y León Challenger tournament held in Segovia
Segovia
Segovia is a city in Spain, the capital of Segovia Province in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is situated north of Madrid, 30 minutes by high speed train. The municipality counts some 55,500 inhabitants.-Etymology:...
, defeating top seed Fernando Verdasco
Fernando Verdasco
Fernando Verdasco Carmona is a professional tennis player. He is currently ranked no. 22 in the world. Verdasco started playing tennis at four years of age and had a full-time coach when he was eight...
in the quarterfinals and Benjamin Becker
Benjamin Becker
Benjamin Becker is a German professional tennis player. Becker's primary weapon is a very big serve that he can hit at up to 220km/h, along with powerful groundstrokes....
in the final.
Del Potro qualified for his first US Open in 2006, after being seeded ninth in the qualifying stages
2006 U.S. Open - Men's Qualifying Singles
The US Open Men's Qualifying Tournament ran from 2006-08-22 to 2006-08-25. Sixteen players qualified for the Men's Singles Main Draw, which started on Monday 2006-08-28.-Seeds:The seeded players are listed below...
, where he beat Brian Vahaly
Brian Vahaly
Brian Vahaly is a former American professional tennis player and graduate of the Mcintire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia.-Early career:...
, Wayne Arthurs, and Daniel Köllerer
Daniel Köllerer
Daniel Köllerer is a former professional tennis player from Austria who turned professional in 2002. Nicknamed "Crazy Dani" for his controversial behaviour while on court, he achieved his career-high ranking of #55 on October 19, 2009. He is serving a lifetime ban from the sport for match-fixing...
in straight sets. In the US Open, he lost in the first round to fellow qualifier Alejandro Falla
Alejandro Falla
Alejandro Falla Ramirez is a professional male tennis player from Colombia. He turned pro in 2000, plays left-handed, weighs 169 lb and measures 6'1" . At the 2006 Wimbledon tournament, Falla upset 9th seed Nikolay Davydenko and at the 2007 Sony Ericsson Open he beat 9th seed Tommy Haas in...
of Colombia in four sets. He went on to qualify for his first ATP Masters Series
ATP Masters Series
The ATP Masters Series was a series of nine tennis tournaments that formed part of the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, held annually throughout the year in Europe, North America...
tournament in Spain, the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, where he lost 4–6, 4–6 in the first round to Joachim Johansson
Joachim Johansson
Joachim Johansson is a former professional male tennis player from Sweden.-Background:Johansson was born in Lund and currently lives in Södertälje, Sweden. His father, Leif Johansson, was also a tennis player and represented Sweden in the Davis Cup in the 1970s. He goes by the nickname "Pim Pim",...
. After receiving a wild card thanks to Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
, he reached the quarterfinals of the 2006 Davidoff Swiss Indoors
2006 Davidoff Swiss Indoors - Singles
Fernando González was the defending champion, but Roger Federer defeated him 6–3, 6–2, 7–6, in the final.-Seeds:# Roger Federer # David Nalbandian # Fernando González ...
in Basel, Switzerland; defeating lucky loser
Lucky Loser
Lucky Loser is a 2006 Thai sports-comedy about a small, fictional Southeast Asian country's bid to play in the World Cup...
Tobias Clemens in the first round and George Bastl
George Bastl
George Edward Bastl is a professional tennis player from Switzerland. He is ranked at World No. 845 as of August 22, 2011.He has reached one singles final in his career – at Tashkent in 1999.-Tennis career:...
in the second round, before losing to the eventual runner-up Fernando González
Fernando González
----Fernando Francisco González Ciuffardi is a professional tennis player from Chile. He is known for having one of the hardest forehands on the circuit. In Spanish he is called El Bombardero de La Reina and Mano de Piedra...
, 7–5, 4–6, 4–6. Del Potro finished 2006 as the youngest player in the top 100 at 18 years, 2 months.
2007
Del Potro began the year by reaching his first semifinal in ATP Adelaide2007 Next Generation Adelaide International - Singles
-Round Robin 1:*Winner of round robin: Novak Djokovic-Round Robin 2:*Winner of round robin: Paul Goldstein-Round Robin 3:*Winner of round robin: Vincent Spadea-Round Robin 4:*Winner of round robin: Joachim Johansson...
, Australia, where he lost to Chris Guccione
Chris Guccione
Christopher "Chris" Luke Guccione , is an Australian professional tennis player from Greenvale, Victoria; his father is Italian and his mother is Australian....
, 7–5, 3–6, 5–7, having beaten Igor Kunitsyn
Igor Kunitsyn
Igor Kunitsyn is a professional male tennis player from Russia. He made it into the top 100 for the first time in 2006, and reached a career-high singles ranking of 35 on July 6, 2009.-Early life:...
, 6–2, 6–0, earlier in the day. He then reached the second round of the Australian Open
2007 Australian Open - Men's Singles
Roger Federer was the defending champion, and won in the final 7–6, 6–4, 6–4, against Fernando González, becoming the first man since Björn Borg in 1976 to win a Grand Slam tournament without dropping a set.-Seeds:...
, where he had to retire because of injury in his match against eventual finalist Fernando González
Fernando González
----Fernando Francisco González Ciuffardi is a professional tennis player from Chile. He is known for having one of the hardest forehands on the circuit. In Spanish he is called El Bombardero de La Reina and Mano de Piedra...
in the fifth set, with the score being 6–7(7), 6–4, 7–6(3), 4–6, 0–4 at the time of his retirement. In February, del Potro played for Argentina in the first round of the Davis Cup
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...
against Austria, winning the fourth and definite match against Jürgen Melzer
Jürgen Melzer
Jürgen Melzer is an Austrian tennis player. He reached a career-high ranking of no. 8 on 18 April 2011, and a doubles ranking of no. 6 on 13 September 2010. He is the only current player on the ATP Tour to be ranked in the top 10 in both singles and doubles. He is a left-handed tennis player, but...
, 7–6(4), 3–6, 6–4, 4–6, 6–2, allowing Argentina to qualify for the quarterfinals.
Del Potro defeated Feliciano López
Feliciano López
Feliciano López Diaz-Guerra is a Spanish professional male tennis player. He was born in Toledo and now lives in the Spanish capital Madrid....
, 6–1, 6–2, before losing to eventual semifinalist Mardy Fish
Mardy Fish
Mardy Simpson Fish is an American professional tennis player, and Olympic silver medalist. He is a hardcourt specialist...
, 1–6, 6–7(9), in the second round of the indoor Regions Morgan Keegan Championships
2007 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships - Singles
Tommy Haas was the defending champion, and won in the final 6–3, 6–2, against Andy Roddick.-Seeds:# Andy Roddick # Tommy Haas # Andy Murray # Mardy Fish ...
. In his next ATP Masters event, he reached the second round of the Pacific Life Open, beating Gustavo Kuerten
Gustavo Kuerten
Gustavo Kuerten is a retired former World No. 1 tennis player from Brazil. He won the French Open three times between 1997 and 2001, and was the Tennis Masters Cup champion in 2000...
in the first round, but then losing to Richard Gasquet
Richard Gasquet
Richard Gasquet is a French professional tennis player. He won the mixed doubles Grand Slam title at the 2004 French Open, partnering Tatiana Golovin. His highest ranking in singles is #7. His best achievements in tennis are reaching the semi-finals of Wimbledon in 2007 and later that year...
by a similar margin, 6–7(2), 2–6. Del Potro went further in the Sony Ericsson Open, reaching the fourth round after he defeated three top-50 players: Jonas Björkman
Jonas Björkman
Jonas Lars Björkman is a former World Number 4 Swedish professional tennis player. He is also a former World No. 1 in doubles. Björkman retired from professional tennis after competing at the 2008 Tennis Masters Cup Doubles championships....
, Marcos Baghdatis
Marcos Baghdatis
At the French Open, Baghdatis lost in the second round in five sets to Frenchman Julien Benneteau, 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 7-6, 4-6.At Wimbledon, Baghdatis defeated British player Andy Murray in the fourth round in straight sets. In the quarterfinals, Baghdatis beat the 2002 champion and former world no. 1...
, and Mikhail Youzhny
Mikhail Youzhny
Mikhail Mikhailovich Youzhny , is a professional Russian tennis player, noted for his consistency and all-court play style. He has been coached by Boris Sobkin for 17 years....
, before falling to Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal
Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...
, 0–6, 4–6. In May, he lost in the first round of the French Open to eventual champion, Nadal 5–7, 3–6, 2–6.
In his first grass-court event, del Potro beat Thomas Johansson
Thomas Johansson
Karl Thomas Conny Johansson , commonly known as Thomas Johansson, is a former Swedish professional tennis player. He is a former Australian Open singles champion and Olympic silver medalist in doubles.-Junior career:...
in two sets and reached the second round at Queen's Club
2007 Queen's Club Championships - Singles
-Seeds:The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round.# Rafael Nadal # Andy Roddick # Fernando González # Novak Đoković # Ivan Ljubičić ...
, where he lost to Nadal. He also reached the quarterfinals in Nottingham
2007 Nottingham Open - Singles
Ivo Karlović defeated Arnaud Clément 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 to win the 2007 Nottingham Open singles event.-Seeds:# Richard Gasquet # Dmitry Tursunov # Agustín Calleri # Jonas Björkman ...
the following week; there he beat British qualifier Jamie Baker
Jamie Baker (tennis)
Jamie Baker is a British professional male tennis player. He trains at Nottingham Tennis Centre and in Loughborough.-Junior:...
and Kunitsyn in the first two rounds, but lost to Ivo Karlović
Ivo Karlovic
Ivo Karlović is a Croatian tennis player. He has won four ATP singles titles: three in 2007 and one in 2008. Karlović is the tallest player ever on the ATP Tour at 208 cm . He is a serve-and-volleyer, Karlovic holds the fastest serve recorded in professional tennis, measured at 251 km/h ...
, 6–7(10), 5–7, at the quarterfinal stage. At his inaugural Wimbledon Championships
2007 Wimbledon Championships - Men's Singles
Roger Federer won his fifth consecutive Wimbledon to equal the record of Björn Borg, defeating Rafael Nadal in five sets in the final.-Seeds:# Roger Federer # Rafael Nadal # Andy Roddick # Novak Djoković ...
, he defeated Davide Sanguinetti
Davide Sanguinetti
Davide Sanguinetti is an Italian former professional male tennis player.Born in Viareggio in Tuscany, he attended the Harry Hopman academy in Florida and then UCLA...
, 3–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–4, in the first round, before losing, 2–6, 5–7, 1–6, to eventual champion Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
in the second round, after a rain delay in the third set.
Del Potro lost to Frank Dancevic
Frank Dancevic
Frank Russell Dancevic is a Canadian professional tennis player. He first became the country's top singles player, according to ATP rankings, on February 10, 2003, as an eighteen-year old, and remained so from January 30, 2006 until June 20, 2010. He is the Canada No...
in three sets in the second round of the singles at the ATP event
2007 Indianapolis Tennis Championships
The 2007 Indianapolis Tennis Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 20th edition of the Indianapolis Tennis Championships, and was part of the International Series of the 2007 ATP Tour. It took place at the Indianapolis Tennis Center in Indianapolis,...
in Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
. At the same event, partnered with Travis Parrott
Travis Parrott
Travis Parrott is an American professional ATP tennis doubles player. He is primarily a doubles specialist...
in doubles, he won his first doubles tournament, defeating Teymuraz Gabashvili and Karlović, 2–6, 6–2, 10–6, in the final. He regards this as a special victory, "It was fantastic to play doubles with Parrott. I'm so happy because I've never won a doubles tournament. For the rest of my life, I will remember this tournament." Del Potro qualified for the ATP Masters Series event in Cincinnati, where he reached the third round. He defeated countryman Guillermo Cañas
Guillermo Cañas
Guillermo Ignacio Cañas , often referred to as Willy Cañas, is a retired Argentine professional tennis player. He was born in Argentina's capital, Buenos Aires, and named after Argentine tennis star Guillermo Vilas. His highest singles ranking was 8th . After retirement Cañas took on coaching, he...
in the first round and Philipp Kohlschreiber
Philipp Kohlschreiber
Philipp Kohlschreiber is a tennis player from Germany, who turned professional in 2001. The right-hander has won six doubles and three singles titles. He reached his highest singles ATP-ranking on 28 September 2009, when he achieved a ranking of World No. 22...
in the second, before losing, 5–7, 6–3, 5–7, to former world no. 1 Carlos Moyá
Carlos Moyá
Carlos Moya Llompart is a retired former world no. 1 tennis player from Spain. He was the French Open singles champion in 1998 and was the singles runner-up at the 1997 Australian Open. In 2004, he helped his country win the Davis Cup. He currently resides in Switzerland...
. At that year's US Open, he defeated Nicolas Mahut
Nicolas Mahut
Nicolas Pierre Armand Mahut is a French tennis player. Mahut is right-handed and has previously won the Orange Bowl in 1999, becoming professional in 2000. He is a good serve and volleyer and a doubles expert, having won many tournaments with his doubles partner Julien Benneteau. His career high...
, 6–0, 6–4, 6–2, and Melzer, 6–3, 6–1, 6–4, before losing to eventual finalist and third seed Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open...
, 1–6, 3–6, 4–6, in the third round. He also reached the third round of the Madrid Masters by beating Potito Starace
Potito Starace
Potito Starace is an Italian professional tennis player on the ATP Tour. He achieved his career-high ranking of 27th on October 15, 2007 and prefers to play on red clay...
, 7–5, 6–1, and Tommy Robredo
Tommy Robredo
Tommy Robredo Garcés is a Spanish professional tennis player. On 8 May 2006, he broke into the world's top ten for the first time. His highest singles ranking to date is No...
, 6–7(4), 6–4, 6–3, before losing to eventual champion David Nalbandian
David Nalbandian
David Pablo Nalbandian is an Argentine professional tennis player and former world no. 3. He was runner-up at the 2002 Wimbledon Championships and the winner of the Tennis Masters Cup in 2005.-Biography:...
in straight sets. In the last tournament of the year, the Paris Masters
2007 BNP Paribas Masters - Singles
Nikolay Davydenko was the defending champion, but lost in the third round to Marcos Baghdatis.David Nalbandian won in the final 6–4, 6–0, against Rafael Nadal.-Seeds:All seeds received a bye into the second round.# Roger Federer ...
, he reached the second round, where he lost to Nikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko is a Ukrainian-Russian tennis player. Davydenko's best result in a Grand Slam tournament has been reaching the semifinals, which he has done on four occasions: twice each at the French Open and the U.S. Open. His biggest achievement to date was winning the 2009 ATP...
, 6–7(3), 1–6. That year, del Potro was the youngest player to finish in the year-end top 50 at 19 years, 2 months.
2008
2008 Next Generation Adelaide International - Singles
Novak Djokovic was the defending champion, but chose not to participate that year.Michaël Llodra won in the final 6–3, 6–4, against Jarkko Nieminen.-Seeds:# Lleyton Hewitt # Paul-Henri Mathieu ...
, where he was the seventh seed. He then made it to the second round of the Australian Open
2008 Australian Open - Men's Singles
Roger Federer was the defending champion, but lost in the semifinals to Novak Djokovic.Novak Djokovic won in the final 4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 7–6, against unseeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga...
in January, only to retire against David Ferrer
David Ferrer
David Ferrer Ern is a Spanish professional tennis player who lives in Valencia, Spain who is currently no. 5 in the ATP Rankings and the second-highest ranked Spaniard behind world no. 2 Rafael Nadal. He turned professional in 2000...
due to an injury when the score was, 3–6, 4–6. Del Potro returned to the circuit in March, winning his first match against Jesse Levine
Jesse Levine
Jesse Levine is a Canadian-born American professional tennis player. He achieved his career-high singles rank of No. 94 on November 3, 2008....
, 7–5, 6–1, at the Sony Ericsson Open
2008 Miami Masters
The 2008 Miami Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 24th edition of the Miami Masters, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier I Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...
, before losing 4–6, 2–6, in the second round to López. Struggling with injuries, his ranking fell as low as no. 81 in April. "At the start of the year, I was playing good, but I had many injuries, many problems with my body, with my physique," said del Potro. "I changed my coach, changed my physical trainer, I changed everything."
In May, del Potro had to retire again, this time in a first-round match against Andy Murray at the Rome Masters which stood at 7–5, 4–6, 0–1 at the time of his retirement. During the second set, the Argentine allegedly made derogatory comments about Murray's mother which resulted in a complaint to the umpire. Del Potro's serve was subsequently broken three times in a row, and he suffered a back injury, which caused his retirement. In his second Grand Slam of the year, the French Open, he was eliminated in the second round by Simone Bolelli
Simone Bolelli
Simone Bolelli is a professional Italian tennis player.- 2003 :In 2003, Bolelli reached his first ITF Futures tournament semifinal at Egypt F1, losing to 485th-ranked Jaroslav Pospíšil. He played entirely Futures events except for one Challenger tournament in Brindisi, losing to Galo Blanco in the...
in four sets. In June, he reached the semifinals of the Ordina Open
2008 Ordina Open - Men's Singles
Ivan Ljubičić was the defending champion, but lost in the second round to Viktor Troicki.David Ferrer won in the final 6–4, 6–2, against Marc Gicquel.-Seeds:# David Ferrer '# Richard Gasquet ...
, losing to eventual winner and top seed Ferrer in straight sets. For the second year in a row, he was knocked out of Wimbledon in the second round; he won his first round clash with Pavel Šnobel
Pavel Šnobel
Pavel Šnobel is a left-handed, Czech tennis player. He reached his career-high singles ranking of #178 in July, 2005 and his career-high doubles ranking of #110 in February, 2006.-Professional career:...
in straight sets, but then lost, 6–7(5), 3–6, 5–7, to Wawrinka.
After losing to Wawrinka, a successful summer followed for the Argentine. In July, del Potro and his team decided to remain in Europe to test his fitness. "We decided to play on clay courts for my back because if I start to play again on hard courts, maybe I will injure it again", he recalled. Del Potro won his first career ATP tour title at the Mercedes Cup
2008 Mercedes Cup - Singles
Rafael Nadal was the defending champion, but was forced to withdraw due to a knee injury.Juan Martín del Potro won in the final 6–4, 7–5, against Richard Gasquet.-Seeds:The top four seeds receive a bye into the second round....
in Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, defeating Gasquet in straight sets in the final. A week later, del Potro reached his second career ATP Tour final at the Austrian Open in Kitzbühel
Kitzbühel
-Demographic evolution:-Personalities:*Karl Wilhelm von Dalla Torre , entomologist and botanist*Alfons Walde , expressionist painter and architect*Peter Aufschnaiter , mountaineer and geographer...
, where he beat local hope and sixth seed Melzer, 6–2, 6–1, in less than an hour, to claim his second title in two weeks. Having competed in just two clay tournaments all of the 2007 season, he never thought he would win his first two titles on clay courts.
In August, del Potro won his third consecutive title at the Countrywide Classic
2008 Countrywide Classic - Singles
Radek Štěpánek was the defending champion, but chose not to participate that year.Juan Martín del Potro won in the final 6–1, 7–6, against Andy Roddick.-Seeds:The top four seeds receive a bye into the second round.# Andy Roddick ...
in Los Angeles, beating Andy Roddick
Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is currently the second highest-ranked American player, behind Mardy Fish....
, 6–1, 7–6(2), in the final. After the match, Roddick praised his opponent. "[Del Potro] hits this way and this way kind of equally and he can hit it from inside out and running to it, which is a good thing for him, bad for the rest of us". A fourth consecutive title followed a week later in the Legg Mason Tennis Classic
2008 Legg Mason Tennis Classic - Singles
Andy Roddick was the defending champion, but lost in the quarterfinals to Viktor Troicki.Juan Martín del Potro won in the final 6–3, 6–3, against Viktor Troicki.-Seeds:# Andy Roddick # Juan Martín del Potro...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, where he recorded a 6–3, 6–3 victory over Viktor Troicki
Viktor Troicki
Viktor Troicki is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has Serb and Russian ethnic roots. His paternal grandparents emigrated from Tver and Rostov-on-Don to Serbia in 1917. His career-high ranking is no. 12, achieved on 6 June 2011. He won his first ATP singles title at the 2010 Kremlin Cup,...
, becoming the first player in ATP history to win his first four career titles in as many tournaments. "I don't really understand what I did. It is difficult to believe that I have won four consecutive titles", del Potro said, crediting coach Franco Davín
Franco Davín
Franco Davín is a tennis coach and a former tennis player from Argentina. He currently coaches fellow countryman Juan Martín del Potro, and was the captain of the Argentine Davis Cup team...
for his impressive run. "He changed my game. He changed my mind. He changed everything. When I play and I see him in the stands, it gives me confidence. I can play relaxed."
Gilles Simon
Gilles Simon is a French professional tennis player and former world no. 6. He is a nine-time winner on the ATP World Tour...
to reach the round of 16. He went on to defeat Japanese teenager Kei Nishikori
Kei Nishikori
is a Japanese tennis player, currently ranked 25th in the world, as of 10 October 2011. He began playing tennis at the age of five, and on 17 July 2007 he qualified for his first ATP main draw event at the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles, California at the age of 17.-Junior career:Nishikori won...
in straight sets, 6–3, 6–4, 6–3. In the quarterfinals, he was stopped by eventual finalist Murray, losing after almost four hours. The defeat came after 23 consecutive victories: the second-longest winning streak in 2008 and the longest winning streak by a player outside the top 10 in the last 20 years.
Del Potro was selected to play his first home-based Davis Cup tie, between Argentina
Argentina Davis Cup team
The Argentina Davis Cup team represents Argentina in Davis Cup tennis competition and is governed by the Asociación Argentina de Tenis.Argentina has never won the tournament, but have finished as the runner-up three times, in 1981, 2006 and 2008....
and Russia
Russia Davis Cup team
The Russia Davis Cup team represents Russia in Davis Cup tennis competition and is governed by the Russian Tennis Federation. The team started playing in 1993....
, which took place on 19–21 September. He won his first singles match against Davydenko in three sets, 6–1, 6–4, 6–2. He also won the fifth and deciding match against Igor Andreev
Igor Andreev
Igor Valerievich Andreev is a Russian professional tennis player, born in Moscow.-2003:Andreev made his ATP debut in September 2003 at Bucharest, Romania as a qualifier and defeated top seed Nikolay Davydenko 7–5, 6–7, 6–0 in the first round, before losing in the next round to José Acasuso.At the...
in straight sets, 6–4, 6–2, 6–1, booking Argentina a place in the final.
At the AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships
2008 AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships - Men's Singles
David Ferrer was the defending champion, but lost in the quarterfinals to Juan Martín del Potro.Tomáš Berdych won in the final 6–1, 6–4, against Juan Martín del Potro.-Seeds:All seeds received a bye into the second round.# David Ferrer...
, he made the final by defeating 11th seed Jarkko Nieminen
Jarkko Nieminen
Jarkko Kalervo Nieminen is a professional tennis player from Finland.His highest ranking is 13th, which was achieved on July 10, 2006. He has won one ATP singles title and two doubles titles in his career so far. His best performances in Grand Slam tournaments have been reaching the quarter-finals...
, top seed and defending champion Ferrer, and fourth seed Gasquet. He was defeated by Tomáš Berdych
Tomáš Berdych
Tomáš Berdych is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. His most notable achievements are reaching the final of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, and the semifinals of the 2010 French Open. He defeated the Croatian player Ivan Ljubičić in five sets to win the Paris Masters in 2005...
, 1–6, 4–6, in the final. At the Madrid Masters
2008 Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid - Singles
David Nalbandian was the defending champion, but lost in the third round to Juan Martín del Potro.Andy Murray won in the final 6–4, 7–6, against Gilles Simon.-Seeds:All seeds receive a bye into the second round....
, he lost in the quarterfinals in straight sets to Federer. He reached the semifinals of his next tournament, the Davidoff Swiss Indoors
2008 Davidoff Swiss Indoors - Singles
Roger Federer was the defending champion, and won in the final 6–3, 6–4, against David Nalbandian.-Seeds:# Roger Federer # David Nalbandian # Juan Martín del Potro # James Blake ...
, before losing to countryman Nalbandian, 4–6, 4–6. He was beaten by Nalbandian again in his next tournament, this time it was in the second round of the Paris Masters
2008 BNP Paribas Masters - Singles
David Nalbandian was the defending champion, but Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated him 6–3, 4–6, 6–4 in the final.-Seeds:All seeds receive a bye into the second round.# Rafael Nadal ...
. Del Potro blamed fatigue for his defeat, "It's difficult to play the last tournament of the year. I was tired, my mind was in Argentina [the venue for the Davis Cup final]". This left del Potro's qualification for the 2008 Tennis Masters Cup out of his hands; fortunately for him, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat James Blake
James Blake
James Riley Blake is an American professional tennis player. Blake is known for his speed and powerful, flat forehand. As of August 2011, Blake is ranked no. 63 among active male players with 24 career finals appearances...
in the semifinals, which was enough to ensure his place at the year-end event.
Del Potro won one match at the Masters Cup, against Tsonga, but lost his other two matches against the higher-ranked Djokovic and Davydenko, meaning that he exited the tournament in the round-robin stage
Round-robin tournament
A round-robin tournament is a competition "in which each contestant meets all other contestants in turn".-Terminology:...
. This was his last event of the year on the ATP Tour. He went on to lose one match, 6–4, 6–7(2), 6–7(4), 3–6, in the Davis Cup final, against López, as his team succumbed to a 3–1 loss against Spain
Spain Davis Cup team
The Spain Davis Cup team represents Spain in the Davis Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Real Federación Española de Tenis, presided over by José Luis Escañuela....
. He was forced to withdraw from his second match due to a thigh injury and was replaced by José Acasuso
José Acasuso
José Javier "Chucho" Acasuso is a professional male tennis player from Argentina. Like many of his fellow countrymen, he favours clay. He is known for his strong serve and his hard groundstrokes off both sides...
. Nonetheless, del Potro enjoyed a successful season; winning four titles and finishing 2008 as the youngest player in the top 10, top-ranked Argentine, and highest-ranked South American.
2009
At the Heineken Open2009 Heineken Open - Singles
Philipp Kohlschreiber was the defending champion, but withdrew in the quarterfinals due to a shoulder injury.In the final, Juan Martín del Potro defeated Sam Querrey, 6–4, 6–4.-Seeds:# Juan Martín del Potro...
in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, New Zealand, del Potro was the top seed for the tournament. He defeated American Sam Querrey
Sam Querrey
Sam Austin Querrey is a professional American tennis player from Thousand Oaks, California currently living in Las Vegas, Nevada. As of August 2010, he is the fourth-highest ranked American. His career high rank was #17, achieved on January 31, 2011. His height allows him to play with a strong...
in the final, 6–4, 6–4, to win the title, the fifth of his career. Seeded eighth at the Australian Open
2009 Australian Open - Men's Singles
The 2009 men's tournament is considered to be one of the best Grand Slam tournaments in open era history. It is remembered for containing many of the best matches of the 2009 year, including the Nadal v Verdasco semi final and the Nadal v Federer final...
, he beat Marin Čilić
Marin Cilic
Marin Čilić , is a Croatian professional tennis player. His career high ATP ranking is no. 9, achieved on 22 February 2010, following his best-ever performance at a Grand Slam, reaching the semi-finals in the 2010 Australian Open...
in the fourth round to become the first player to reach the quarterfinals that year. Del Potro's tournament ended in his next match, when he lost in straight sets to Federer, 3–6, 0–6, 0–6. At the BNP Paribas Open
2009 BNP Paribas Open - Men's Singles
Novak Djokovic was the defending champion but he lost in quarterfinals to Andy Roddick 3-6 2-6.Rafael Nadal won in the final against Andy Murray 6-1 6-2.-Seeds:All seeds receive a bye into the second round.# Rafael Nadal '...
, the sixth seed del Potro advanced to the quarterfinals, where he was defeated by world no. 1 Nadal. Del Potro avenged that loss the following week at the Sony Ericsson Open
2009 Sony Ericsson Open - Men's Singles
Nikolay Davydenko was the defending champion, but chose not to participate that year due to a left heel injury. Andy Murray defeated Novak Djokovic 6–2, 7–5 to win the title.-Seeds:All seeds receive a bye into the second round....
, where he came back from a double break down in the third set at 0–3 to defeat Nadal in the quarterfinals. This was the first time del Potro had defeated Nadal in five meetings. Despite a 1–6, 7–5, 2–6 loss in the semifinals to Murray, del Potro reached a career-high ranking of world no. 5.
2009 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters - Singles
Rafael Nadal was the defending champion, and won in the final 6–3, 2–6, 6–1, against Novak Djokovic.-Seeds:The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round.# Rafael Nadal # Roger Federer ...
by Ivan Ljubičić
Ivan Ljubicic
----Ivan Ljubičić is a Croatian tennis player born in Bosnia and Herzegovina . His career-high ATP ranking to date has been no. 3, and he stands at no. 37....
. In Rome
2009 Internazionali BNL d'Italia - Men's Singles
Novak Djokovic was the defending champion, but Rafael Nadal defeated him in the final, 7–6, 6–2.-Seeds:The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round.# Rafael Nadal # Roger Federer ...
, del Potro beat Troicki and Wawrinka to advance to the quarterfinals, where he was defeated by defending champion Djokovic in straight sets. This meant del Potro's head-to-head record with the Serb was now 0–3. Del Potro then played at the 2009 Madrid Masters
2009 Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open - Men's Singles
Andy Murray was the defending champion, but lost in the quarterfinals to Juan Martín del Potro.The semifinal match between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic is the longest 3 set match in the open era history stretching for over 4 hours with Nadal prevailing 3-6, 7-6, 7-6.Roger Federer won in the...
. After defeating Murray for the first time in the quarterfinals, he lost to Federer in the semifinals, 3–6, 4–6. At the French Open
2009 French Open – Men's Singles
Rafael Nadal was the defending champion but lost in the fourth round to Robin Söderling. This was Nadal's first ever defeat at the French Open, having won the title in all six of his other appearances...
, where he was fifth seed, del Potro defeated Michaël Llodra
Michaël Llodra
Michaël Llodra is a French professional tennis player. He is a prolific doubles player with three Grand Slam championships, and has also had success in singles.-Life and career:...
, Troicki, Andreev, and ninth seed Tsonga en route to the quarterfinals. He then defeated three-time former quarterfinalist Robredo to get to his first semifinal. He was defeated in a close semifinal, where he was leading by a set twice, 6–3, 6–7(2), 6–2, 1–6, 4–6, by eventual champion Federer who, after their match, said: "[Del Potro] is young and strong, I have a lot of respect for him." Prior to this encounter, del Potro had never taken a set from Federer in their five previous career meetings.
At the 2009 Wimbledon Championships
2009 Wimbledon Championships - Gentlemen's Singles
Roger Federer defeated Andy Roddick in a final that is widely considered to be one of the most exciting in recent years. It was Federer's sixth and final Wimbledon title and with this win he broke the Grand Slam record of Pete Sampras...
, his poor grass-court form from the past continued on, as he went down to unseeded Lleyton Hewitt
Lleyton Hewitt
Lleyton Glynn Hewitt born 24 February 1981) is an Australian professional tennis player and former world no. 1.In 2000, Hewitt had won ATP titles on all three major surfaces and reached one final on carpet. By 2001, he became the youngest male ever to be ranked no. 1 at the age of 20...
, 3–6, 5–7, 5–7, in the second round. In the Davis Cup quarter-final against the Czech Republic
Czech Republic Davis Cup team
The Czech Republic Davis Cup team represents the Czech Republic in Davis Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Czech Tennis Federation. The Czech team was started in 1993, following the Czechoslovakian break-up....
, del Potro won his matches against Ivo Minář
Ivo Minár
Ivo Minář is a professional male tennis player from the Czech Republic. On July 20, 2009, Minář reached his career-high singles ranking of World No. 62...
and Berdych in straight sets, but Argentina still lost the tie 2–3, eliminating them from the competition. A few weeks later, he defeated Hewitt and Fernando González
Fernando González
----Fernando Francisco González Ciuffardi is a professional tennis player from Chile. He is known for having one of the hardest forehands on the circuit. In Spanish he is called El Bombardero de La Reina and Mano de Piedra...
en route to the Washington
2009 Legg Mason Tennis Classic - Singles
Juan Martín del Potro was the defending champion, and won for the second straight year in the final 3-6, 7-5, 7-6, over Andy Roddick.-Seeds:All seeds receive a bye into the second round.# Andy Roddick # Juan Martín del Potro...
final. He successfully defended his title against top-seeded Wimbledon finalist Roddick, 3–6, 7–5, 7–6(6), to win his second tournament of the year and become the first player since Andre Agassi
Andre Agassi
Andre Kirk Agassi is a retired American professional tennis player and former world no. 1. Generally considered by critics and fellow players to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Agassi has been called the best service returner in the history of the game...
to win back-to-back Washington titles. Del Potro played the following week at the Masters 1000
2009 ATP World Tour Masters 1000
In 2007 the ATP Tour announced that major changes will take place in 2009. The Masters Series will be renamed to the Masters 1000, with the addition of the number 1000 referring to the amount of ranking points which are won.-Tournaments:...
in Montreal
2009 Rogers Masters - Singles
Rafael Nadal was the defending champion, but lost in the quarterfinals to Juan Martín del Potro.This was first time since 1973 on the ATP World Tour that the top eight ranked players advanced to the quarterfinals at a single tournament....
, where he was seeded sixth, defeating world no. 2 Nadal in the quarterfinals, 7–6(5), 6–1, his second win in a row over Nadal. He then defeated Roddick in the semifinals, 4–6, 6–2, 7–5, saving a match point, to advance to his first Masters 1000 final, and to improve his head-to-head record against Roddick to 3–0. In the final, he lost against Murray, 7–6(4), 6–7(3), 1–6. He later withdrew from the next Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati
2009 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters - Singles
Andy Murray was the defending champion, but lost in the semifinals against Roger Federer.Roger Federer won in the final, 6–1, 7–5, against Novak Djokovic.-Seeds:The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round....
due to fatigue.
Seeded sixth at the 2009 US Open
2009 US Open - Men's Singles
Roger Federer was the defending champion, but was defeated by Juan Martín del Potro in the final, 6–3, 6–7, 6–4, 6–7, 2–6.-Seeds:# Roger Federer # Andy Murray # Rafael Nadal # Novak Djokovic ...
, del Potro began by defeating Mónaco and Melzer in straight sets, before dropping a set but defeating Köllerer to reach the fourth round. He defeated a resurgent Ferrero, 6–3, 6–3, 6–3, to advance to the quarterfinals for the second consecutive year. Del Potro then advanced to the semifinals by defeating Čilić, 4–6, 6–3, 6–2, 6–1. Del Potro was down a set and a break, before winning 17 of the final 20 games to win the match. His advance to the semifinals ensured his return to the top 5 in the world rankings. He then defeated world no. 3 and reigning Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal
Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...
, 6–2, 6–2, 6–2, in the semifinals to reach his first Grand Slam final. This was his third consecutive victory over Nadal and made him the first Argentine to reach a Grand Slam singles final since Mariano Puerta
Mariano Puerta
Mariano Ruben Puerta is a former Argentine professional male tennis player best known for making the final of the French Open in 2005, where he lost to Rafael Nadal in four sets.-Career:...
at the 2005 French Open. Del Potro went one better, rallying from a set and a break down to defeat world no. 1 and five-time defending champion Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
, 3–6, 7–6(5), 4–6, 7–6(4), 6–2; his first victory over Federer after six previous defeats, and Federer's first loss in the US Open since 2003. "Since [I was] young, I dream with this and take trophy with me", said del Potro, who became the first Argentine male to win the title since Guillermo Vilas
Guillermo Vilas
Guillermo Apolinario Vilas is a retired and former World No. 2 professional tennis player from Argentina. He was the second Latin-American to win a Grand Slam tournament.-Career:...
in 1977. "I did my dream, and it's unbelievable moment. It's amazing match, amazing people. Everything is perfect." After the match, Federer praised del Potro; "I thought he hung in there and gave himself chances and, in the end, was the better man."
He is the first player since countryman David Nalbandian
David Nalbandian
David Pablo Nalbandian is an Argentine professional tennis player and former world no. 3. He was runner-up at the 2002 Wimbledon Championships and the winner of the Tennis Masters Cup in 2005.-Biography:...
to defeat Federer at the US Open, and at 198 cm (6 ft 6 in), he is the tallest ever Grand Slam champion. Besides Nadal, Del Potro is the only player to defeat Federer in a Grand Slam final, and the first player to defeat both Nadal and Federer in the same Grand Slam tournament.
Dick Enberg
Dick Enberg
Richard Alan "Dick" Enberg is an American sportscaster. He currently provides play-by-play for telecasts of San Diego Padres baseball on 4SD, following a long career calling various sports for such networks as NBC, CBS, and ESPN...
hosted the post-match ceremony during which a victorious Del Potro requested to address his fans in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
. Enberg declined the request saying that he was running out of time, but went on to list the corporate sponsored prizes Del Potro won. A couple of minutes later, Del Potro made the same request again, and only then did Enberg relent saying, "Very quickly, in Spanish, he wants to say hello to his friends here and in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
". An emotional Del Potro finally spoke a few sentences in Spanish to a cheering crowd. Many viewers expressed disappointment with Enberg and broadcaster CBS
Tennis on CBS
Tennis on CBS is a television program produced by CBS Sports that broadcasts the main professional tennis tournaments in the United States. In 1975, the Women's Tennis Association increased its financial stature by signing a television broadcast contract with CBS, the first in the WTA's history...
over the interview. A CBS executive later defended Enberg, noting that the contract with the United States Tennis Association
United States Tennis Association
The United States Tennis Association is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the United States. A not-for-profit organization with more than 700,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds to promote and develop the growth of tennis, from the grass-roots to the professional levels...
required that certain sponsors receive time during the ceremony.
In his first match since the US Open, Del Potro was upset by world no. 189 Édouard Roger-Vasselin
Édouard Roger-Vasselin
Édouard Roger-Vasselin is a male tennis player from France, the son of 1983 French Open semifinalist Christophe Roger-Vasselin.-2007:...
in straight sets at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships
2009 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships - Singles
Tomáš Berdych was the defending champion, but he lost in the quarterfinals to Mikhail Youzhny.Jo-Wilfried Tsonga won in the final 6-3, 6-3 against Mikhail Youzhny.-Seeds:# Juan Martín del Potro # Jo-Wilfried Tsonga '...
in Tokyo. He then lost his second straight match to Melzer in the second round at the Masters 1000 event in Shanghai
2009 Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 - Singles
Nikolay Davydenko won in the final 7–6, 6–3 against Rafael Nadal, and with this he became the first winner of the inaugural Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 event.-Seeds:The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round.# Rafael Nadal ...
, retiring while trailing, 5–7, 1–2. This retirement caused concerns over the length of the tennis season. He had to retire again in the Paris Masters
2009 BNP Paribas Masters
The 2009 Paris Masters was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 35th edition of the Paris Masters, and was part of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 of the 2009 ATP Tour...
quarterfinals when down 0-4 to Radek Štěpánek
Radek Štepánek
Radek Štěpánek is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic.-Career:Štěpánek turned professional in 1997. He started on tour as a doubles specialist, winning 12 ATP titles. Since 2002, Štěpánek has focused on being a better singles player while still playing top-level doubles...
due to an abdominal injury. In November, del Potro competed in the ATP World Tour Finals
2009 ATP World Tour Finals
The 2009 ATP World Tour Finals was held in London, United Kingdom between November 22 and November 29, 2009...
, where he lost his first round-robin match against Andy Murray, 3–6, 6–3, 2–6, but he managed to defeat Fernando Verdasco
Fernando Verdasco
Fernando Verdasco Carmona is a professional tennis player. He is currently ranked no. 22 in the world. Verdasco started playing tennis at four years of age and had a full-time coach when he was eight...
, 6–4, 3–6, 7–6(1), in his second match to keep his hopes alive. After defeating Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
, 6–2, 6–7(5), 6–3, in the following match, he qualified for the semifinals, ousting Murray by the slimmest possible margin of one game. He defeated Robin Söderling
Robin Söderling
Robin Bo Carl Söderling is a professional tennis player from Sweden who is currently ranked number 13 in the ATP rankings. Söderling reached successive French Open finals in 2009 and 2010...
in the semifinals, 6–7(1), 6–3, 7–6(3), before losing to Nikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Davydenko
Nikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko is a Ukrainian-Russian tennis player. Davydenko's best result in a Grand Slam tournament has been reaching the semifinals, which he has done on four occasions: twice each at the French Open and the U.S. Open. His biggest achievement to date was winning the 2009 ATP...
, 3–6, 4–6, in the final. Del Potro finished 2009 as the youngest player in the top 10, top-ranked Argentine, and highest-ranked South American for the second consecutive year.
2010
Del Potro started his 2010 season at the AAMI Kooyong ClassicAAMI Kooyong Classic
The AAMI Classic is a professional tennis exhibition singles-only tournament, played on outdoor hard courts. It is held annually in January, right before the Australian Open, at the Kooyong Stadium in Kooyong, Melbourne, Australia...
in Melbourne, Australia with a 6–3, 6–3 win over Croatian world no. 24 Ivan Ljubičić
Ivan Ljubicic
----Ivan Ljubičić is a Croatian tennis player born in Bosnia and Herzegovina . His career-high ATP ranking to date has been no. 3, and he stands at no. 37....
. On January 11, he moved up to a career high world no. 4. He was scheduled to face Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on day 2 of the Kooyong Classic exhibition tournament, but withdrew due to a wrist injury. He came into the 2010 Australian Open
2010 Australian Open
The 2010 Australian Open was a tennis tournament that took place in Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 18 to 31 January. It was the 98th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year....
with the injury not healed, and was forced to take a month off after the event. In the fourth round, he fell to eventual semifinalist Marin Čilić
Marin Cilic
Marin Čilić , is a Croatian professional tennis player. His career high ATP ranking is no. 9, achieved on 22 February 2010, following his best-ever performance at a Grand Slam, reaching the semi-finals in the 2010 Australian Open...
, 7–5, 4–6, 5–7, 7–5, 3–6.
Following the Australian Open loss, del Potro missed several tournaments, including the Masters
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
The ATP World Tour Masters 1000 is a series of nine tennis tournaments that are part of the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, held annually throughout the year in Europe, North America and Asia...
tournaments at Indian Wells
2010 BNP Paribas Open
The 2010 BNP Paribas Open was a tennis tournament played at Indian Wells, California in March 2010. It was the 36th edition of the event, known this year as the BNP Paribas Open, and is classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2010 ATP World Tour and a Premier Mandatory event on...
and Miami
2010 Sony Ericsson Open
The 2010 Sony Ericsson Open , was a tennis tournament for men and women held from March 22 to April 4, 2010. It was the 26th edition of the Miami Masters event and is played on outdoor hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Key Biscayne, Florida, located near Miami...
, which were touted as potential return dates, due to the persistent wrist injury. Even though he withdrew from the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters
2010 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters
The 2010 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, a tennis tournament for male professional players, was played from April 10 through April 18, 2010, on outdoor clay courts. It was the 104th edition of the annual Monte Carlo Masters tournament, which is sponsored by Rolex for the second time...
, he regained the world no. 4 ranking, due to Murray's early exit in the second round. He then withdrew from Barcelona
Torneo Godó
The Barcelona Open also known as Torneo Godó, Trofeo Conde de Godó, Open Banco Sabadell, is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players. The event has been held annually in Barcelona, Spain since 1953, and is played on clay courts. Originally an event of the Grand Prix tennis circuit...
and the Rome Masters
Rome Masters
The Italian Open is an annual tennis tournament held in Rome, Italy. It is the most prestigious red clay tennis tournament in the world after the French Open, with the men's competition being an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, and the women's...
. He was going to return the week beginning May 2. However, on May 4 del Potro took the option of having an operation to fix the injury. On May 19, del Potro said he would not defend his US Open title, but if all went well, he would appear after the event, targeting the Paris Masters as a possible comeback. However, on July 22, the USTA stated that del Potro was expected to defend his US Open
2010 US Open (tennis)
The 2010 US Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts, held from August 30 to September 13, 2010 in the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows, Queens, New York City, United States....
crown. The player himself confirmed that his comeback to the tour would be the Thailand Open and said nothing about the New York event. On August 2, del Potro returned to the practice courts. A week before the start of the US Open, after practicing for two weeks, del Potro withdrew from the event, as he felt he was not ready to compete at the highest level.
After the nine-month break, del Potro confirmed that he would make his return at the 2010 PTT Thailand Open
2010 PTT Thailand Open
The 2010 PTT Thailand Open was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 8th edition of the Thailand Open, and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 Series of the 2010 ATP World Tour...
. In his return match, he lost in the first round, 6–7(7), 4–6, to Olivier Rochus
Olivier Rochus
Olivier Rochus is a Belgian tennis player. He was born in Namur, Belgium, and currently resides in Auvelais, Belgium.-Career:...
. He then also played at the 2010 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships
2010 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships
The 2010 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 38th edition of the event known that year as the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships, and was part of the 500 Series of the 2010 ATP World Tour...
, but again lost in the opening round, this time to Feliciano Lopez
Feliciano López
Feliciano López Diaz-Guerra is a Spanish professional male tennis player. He was born in Toledo and now lives in the Spanish capital Madrid....
, 3–6, 0–6.
2011
Del Potro began his 2011 season at the Medibank International2011 Medibank International Sydney
The 2011 Medibank International Sydney was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 119th edition of the Medibank International Sydney, and part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2011 ATP World Tour, and of the WTA Premier tournaments of the 2011 WTA Tour...
as a wildcard entry. In the second round, Del Potro was defeated by Florian Mayer
Florian Mayer
Florian Mayer is a German professional tennis player. He plays on both the ATP Tour and the Challenger Tour. He has won nine Challenger events, which has helped him stay in the top 50 on the rankings....
of Germany, 2–6, 5–7. His next tournament would be the first Grand Slam of the year at the 2011 Australian Open
2011 Australian Open
The 2011 Australian Open was a tennis tournament featuring six different competitions, and part of the 2011 ATP World Tour, the 2011 WTA Tour, ITF Junior Tour and the NEC Tour, as tournaments for professional, junior and wheelchair players were held...
, where Del Potro was defeated by 23rd seed Marcos Baghdatis
Marcos Baghdatis
At the French Open, Baghdatis lost in the second round in five sets to Frenchman Julien Benneteau, 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 7-6, 4-6.At Wimbledon, Baghdatis defeated British player Andy Murray in the fourth round in straight sets. In the quarterfinals, Baghdatis beat the 2002 champion and former world no. 1...
in the second round, 1–6, 3–6, 6–4, 3–6. As a result, Del Potro slipped further down the rankings to no. 485.
After the Australian Open, he participated in the SAP Open
SAP Open
The SAP Open is a men's tennis tournament held annually in San Jose, California. It is the second-oldest tennis tournament in the United States, which is still played. It is an ATP World Tour 250 series event on the Association of Tennis Professionals tour...
in San Jose, where he was accepted into the main draw via special exemptions (SE). He reached the semifinals, after defeating Gabashvili, Lacko, and Hewitt. There, he lost to top seed Fernando Verdasco
Fernando Verdasco
Fernando Verdasco Carmona is a professional tennis player. He is currently ranked no. 22 in the world. Verdasco started playing tennis at four years of age and had a full-time coach when he was eight...
in straight sets. Del Potro's next scheduled tournament was the 2011 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup
2011 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup
The 2011 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup was an ATP World Tour and WTA Tour event held at the hardcourts of the Racquet Club of Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. It was the 35th edition of the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the 25th edition of the Cellular...
, where he was again accepted into the main draw via special exemptions. Here, he made his second consecutive ATP semifinals by defeating sixth seed John Isner
John Isner
John Robert Isner is an American professional tennis player. He achieved his career-high rank of no. 18 on July 5, 2010, and has been as high as the second-ranked American tennis player behind Andy Roddick...
, Ivan Dodig
Ivan Dodig
Ivan Dodig is a Croatian tennis player. His career-high rank ATP singles ranking is No. 32 and his best doubles rank is No. 129.-2010:...
, and qualifier Michael Russell
Michael Russell (tennis)
Michael Craig Russell is an American tennis player.Russell is best known for, on two occasions, holding surprise two-set leads in Grand Slam tournaments against former Grand Slam champions before eventually being defeated both times...
. In the semifinals, he lost to top seed, world no. 8 and eventual champion Andy Roddick
Andy Roddick
Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is currently the second highest-ranked American player, behind Mardy Fish....
, 3–6, 4–6. To continue preparing for his first ATP Masters event since 2009, Del Potro entered the 2011 Delray Beach International Tennis Championships
Delray Beach International Tennis Championships
The International Tennis Championships is an ATP World Tour 250 series men's tennis tournament held every year in Delray Beach, Florida, and played on hard courts. The event was held in Coral Springs from 1993–1998; in 1999, it was relocated to the Delray Beach Tennis Center...
. He defeated Richard Berankis in the first round, 6–4, 6–1, Teymuraz Gabashvili in the second round, 6–1, 6–1, fifth seed Kevin Anderson
Kevin Anderson (tennis)
Kevin Anderson is a male South African tennis player.He became the top-ranked South African player on 10 March 2008 after making the final at the 2008 Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas...
, 6–4, 6–4, and second seed Mardy Fish
Mardy Fish
Mardy Simpson Fish is an American professional tennis player, and Olympic silver medalist. He is a hardcourt specialist...
, 6–1, 7–5, to advance to an ATP-level final stage of a tournament since 2009 at the Barclays World Tour Finals in London. In the final of this 250 tournament, he defeated an erratic Janko Tipsarević
Janko Tipsarevic
Janko Tipsarević is a Serbian tennis player. His career-high ranking is No. 9, achieved on 14 November 2011. He is the 117th player in history to crack the top 10....
, 6–4, 6–4, to get back in the winners circle.
Del Potro's next tournament was the ATP Masters at the 2011 BNP Paribas Open
2011 BNP Paribas Open
The 2011 BNP Paribas Open was a tennis tournament played at Indian Wells, California in March 2011. It was the 36th edition of the event, known as the BNP Paribas Open, and was classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2011 ATP World Tour and a Premier Mandatory event on the 2011...
. He reached the semifinals, where he lost to top seeded Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal
Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...
in straight sets, 4-6, 4-6. Del Potro then flew to Key Biscayne, Miami to participate in the second ATP Masters of the year at the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open
2011 Sony Ericsson Open
The 2011 Sony Ericsson Open , a men's and women's tennis tournament, was held from March 21 to April 3, 2011. It was the 27th edition of the Miami Masters event and played on outdoor hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Miami...
. Del Potro made it to the fourth round, where he played Mardy Fish
Mardy Fish
Mardy Simpson Fish is an American professional tennis player, and Olympic silver medalist. He is a hardcourt specialist...
and lost, 5–7, 6–7(5).
He then played in 2011 Estoril Open
2011 Estoril Open
The 2011 Estoril Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 22nd edition of the Estoril Open, and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2011 ATP World Tour, and of the International-level tournaments of the 2011 WTA Tour...
, which was Del Potro's first tournament on clay since he lost the 2009 Roland Garros semifinal to the eventual champion Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
. In Estoril, he defeated Fernando Verdasco
Fernando Verdasco
Fernando Verdasco Carmona is a professional tennis player. He is currently ranked no. 22 in the world. Verdasco started playing tennis at four years of age and had a full-time coach when he was eight...
, 6–2, 6–2, in the final. On the way to the final, del Potro defeated top seeded Robin Söderling
Robin Söderling
Robin Bo Carl Söderling is a professional tennis player from Sweden who is currently ranked number 13 in the ATP rankings. Söderling reached successive French Open finals in 2009 and 2010...
, 6–4, 7–5, and dropped just one set in his five matches. After suffering an 8-millimeter tear in his left rectus, del Potro withdrew from Madrid and did not participate in the Rome Master, but has confirmed that he would play the French Open. Del Potro lost to Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open...
, 3-6, 6-3, 3-6, 2-6, in the third round.
Del Potro reached the round of 16 at Wimbledon
2011 Wimbledon Championships
The 2011 Wimbledon Championships took place at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, England, from 20 June to 3 July 2011. It was the 125th edition of the championships, and the third Grand Slam tournament of the year. It was played on grass courts and was part of the...
for the first time by defeating Flavio Cipolla
Flavio Cipolla
Flavio Cipolla is a professional tennis player on the ATP Tour from Italy. He reached the second round at the French Open of 2007, where he lost to Rafael Nadal. He reached the 3rd round of the 2008 US Open...
, 6–1, 6–4, 6–3, in the first round, Olivier Rochus
Olivier Rochus
Olivier Rochus is a Belgian tennis player. He was born in Namur, Belgium, and currently resides in Auvelais, Belgium.-Career:...
, 6–7(7), 6–1, 6–0, 6–4, and Gilles Simon
Gilles Simon
Gilles Simon is a French professional tennis player and former world no. 6. He is a nine-time winner on the ATP World Tour...
, 7–6(8), 7–6(5), 7–5. He then lost to world no. 1 Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal
Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...
, 6–7(6), 6–3, 6–7(4), 4–6, in the fourth round. Del Potro returned to the top 20 at world no. 19 for the first time in nearly a year. His next tournament was the Farmers Classic in Los Angeles, where he received a first-round bye as the second seed. He defeated James Blake
James Blake
James Riley Blake is an American professional tennis player. Blake is known for his speed and powerful, flat forehand. As of August 2011, Blake is ranked no. 63 among active male players with 24 career finals appearances...
, 6–4, 7–6, but was defeated 2-6, 4-6, by Ernests Gulbis
Ernests Gulbis
Ernests Gulbis is a Latvian professional tennis player. In 2008, Gulbis won his first ATP Tour doubles title at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, teaming with Rainer Schüttler, and in 2010 won his first ATP Tour singles title in the Delray Beach, defeating Ivo Karlović in the final...
in the quarterfinals.
At the 2011 Rogers Cup
2011 Rogers Cup
The 2011 Canada Masters was a tennis tournament to be played on outdoor hard courts in Canada. It was the 122nd edition of the Canada Masters, and was part of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 of the 2011 ATP World Tour, and of the Premier Series of the 2011 WTA Tour...
, seeded 16th, del Potro defeated Jarkko Nieminen
Jarkko Nieminen
Jarkko Kalervo Nieminen is a professional tennis player from Finland.His highest ranking is 13th, which was achieved on July 10, 2006. He has won one ATP singles title and two doubles titles in his career so far. His best performances in Grand Slam tournaments have been reaching the quarter-finals...
, 6–4, 6–0, before losing 3–6, 4–6 to Marin Čilić
Marin Cilic
Marin Čilić , is a Croatian professional tennis player. His career high ATP ranking is no. 9, achieved on 22 February 2010, following his best-ever performance at a Grand Slam, reaching the semi-finals in the 2010 Australian Open...
in the second round.
At the Western & Southern Masters tournament, del Potro advanced to the second round with a 4–1 ret. result over Andreas Seppi
Andreas Seppi
Andreas Seppi is a professional tennis player from South Tyrol, northern Italy, who turned professional in 2000. He considers clay and hard courts his favourite surfaces. and is coached by Massimo Sartori....
, before losing to Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
, 3–6, 5–7, snapping the two-match winning streak he had against his rival.
Del Potro entered the 2011 US Open
2011 US Open (tennis)
The 2011 US Open was a tennis tournament played on the outdoor hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Park, of Queens, New York City, United States...
seeded 18th. He beat Filippo Volandri
Filippo Volandri
Filippo Volandri is an Italian professional male tennis player. Volandri is a right-handed player who reached a career-high ranking of 25 on July 23, 2007. He turned pro in 1997, and as of January 2006, had earned over $1,300,000 in prize money...
, 6-3, 6-1, 6-1, in the first round and Diego Junqueira
Diego Junqueira
Diego Junqueira is a professional tennis player who plays left-handed from Argentina...
, 6-2, 6-1, 7-5, in the second, before losing, 6-4, 6-7(5), 2-6, 6-7(3), to Gilles Simon
Gilles Simon
Gilles Simon is a French professional tennis player and former world no. 6. He is a nine-time winner on the ATP World Tour...
in the third round.
He won both of his matches in the Davis Cup tie against Serbia in September over Janko Tipsarevic
Janko Tipsarevic
Janko Tipsarević is a Serbian tennis player. His career-high ranking is No. 9, achieved on 14 November 2011. He is the 117th player in history to crack the top 10....
and Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who has been ranked world no. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals since 4 July 2011. He has won four Grand Slam singles titles: the 2008 and 2011 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 US Open...
, helping Argentina to a 3-2 victory over Serbia in the semifinals.
Playing style
Del Potro is primarily an offensive baseliner with a powerful serveServe (tennis)
A serve in tennis is a shot to start a point. A player begins a serve by tossing the ball into the air and hitting it into the diagonally opposite backside box without being stopped by the net. The ball can only touch the net on a return and will be considered good if it falls on the opposite side...
and deep, flat/topspin groundstroke
Groundstroke
A groundstroke in tennis is a forehand or backhand shot that is executed after the ball bounces once on the court. It is usually hit from the back of the tennis court, around the baseline....
s. His forehand
Forehand
The forehand in tennis and other racket sports such as table tennis, squash and badminton is a shot made by swinging the racquet across one's body in the direction of where the player wants to place the shot...
shot is one of his main strengths and possibly the most powerful in the game, capable of frequently generating speeds of 100 mph, and he also possesses a very consistent and powerful double-handed backhand
Backhand
The backhand is a tennis shot in which one swings the racquet around one's body in the direction where one wants the ball to go, usually performed from the baseline or as an approach shot. The term is also used in other racquet sports, and other areas where a similar motion is employed...
. Del Potro's height allows him to get a powerful first serve (often clocked in the mid 130s, and maxing out at 147 mph (M1000 Madrid, vs Murray), and makes it easier for him to return high topspin
Topspin
In ball sports, topspin is a property of a ball that rotates as if rolling in the same direction as it is moving. Topspin on a shot imparts a downward force that causes the ball to drop, due to its interaction with the air . It can be generated by hitting the ball with an up-and-forward swing, with...
balls. Del Potro's best surfaces are hard and clay, while his game on grass has matured somewhat it is still his weakest surface.
Equipment and apparel
Del Potro briefly used the WilsonWilson Sporting Goods
The Wilson Sporting Goods Company is a sports equipment manufacturer based in Chicago, Illinois, and currently is a foreign subsidiary of the Finnish company Amer Sports....
BLX Pro Tour Racquet for the 2010 season, but after returning from his wrist injury switched back to his Wilson
Wilson Sporting Goods
The Wilson Sporting Goods Company is a sports equipment manufacturer based in Chicago, Illinois, and currently is a foreign subsidiary of the Finnish company Amer Sports....
K Factor 6.1 95 (16x18) and strings with Luxilon Big Banger Alu Power at 62 lb, and is sponsored by Nike
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
. He often wore a sleeveless shirt but starting at the 2011 season has worn one with sleeves, a double-wide wristband
Wristband
Wristbands are encircling strips worn on the wrist, made from a variety of materials depending on the purpose. The term can be used to refer to the bracelet-like band of a wristwatch, to the cuff or other part of a sleeve that covers the wrist, or to decorative or functional bands worn on the wrist...
, a bandana
Kerchief
A kerchief is a triangular or square piece of cloth tied around the head or around the neck for protective or decorative purposes...
, Nike Zoom Breathe 2K11 shoes and a pair of woven shorts when on the court.