Juan Martin del Potro
Trending
After a number of surgeries and long periods of recuperation from injury, Argentine ace Juan Martin del Potro made a thundering return to tennis in 2016, and with good results. Perhaps the highlight of his 2016 was a big victory over then-World No. 1 Novak Djokovic at the first round of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Del Potro has only gone on to improve since.
A meteoric rise through the rankings sees the 35th-ranked Del Potro seeded 31 after a last-minute exit for the injured Milos Raonic, who defeated him at the Delray Beach Open this year. Raonic had been unable to play the final there, forfeiting the title to Jack Sock.
Following the Olympics, Del Potro performed strongly at the 2016 US Open – a tournament he entered as a wildcard, going down in the quarter-finals to eventual title winner Stan Wawrinka, and then guiding Argentina to a strong win over team Great Britain at the Davis Cup. Del Potro had been instrumental in that win, taking down World No. 1 Andy Murray in the process.
Although he sat out the Australian Open citing fitness issues, Del Potro has had a good year so far, with even his losses closely fought. The most recent of those was to Novak Djokovic at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco, with the Argentine taking a strong first set before losing momentum.
On the back of his significant rise in the rankings, consistent fitness, and (luckily for himself and his fans, no injury struggles), Del Potro is a former US Open champion, and he has taken a set off Djokovic in every match the two have played in the last five years.
With the mental and physical form he is now in, this might not be difficult for Del Potro. The draw will get tougher should he progress, and he could next set up a meeting with Australian ace Nick Kyrgios – which promises to be a big contest.
