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meg0529
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Can del Potro defend his U.S. Open title?
Call Juan Martin del Potro the X factor for the upcoming U.S. Open. He's the defending champ, and the guy who first demonstrated that if you play a sufficiently big, physical game, you can take down the Roger Federers and Rafael Nadals of this world (Robin Soderling and Tomas Berdych clearly were paying attention).
As few as two weeks ago, del Potro's prospects for playing at Flushing Meadows looked dim. But now, the news out of Argentina is that del Potro has recovered from the surgery on his right wrist, is hitting tennis balls and is on track to defend his title in late August.
That ought to give the top contenders the heebie-jeebies.
When del Potro manhandled Federer in the final of the U.S. Open last September, it seemed like an epoch-ending match. For the first time in a big match on a surface other than clay, Federer met a man who could play him on Federer's terms and still win. It was no one-off performance, either. In the two previous rounds, del Potro had knocked off Marin Cilic and Nadal.
And del Potro backed up that inspired U.S. Open triumph. In the ensuing weeks and months, he beat Federer again and put up a good win over hard-charging Soderling. His year-end head-to-heads looked like this:
Vs. Federer: 2-0 in the latter half of '09, despite trailing 0-6 after his loss to Federer at Roland Garros in the spring.
Vs. Nadal: 3-0 in '09 after Indian Wells, where his record slipped to 0-4.
Vs. Andy Murray: 1-5, with two losses to Murray on hard courts in the summer. Del Potro's crafted his lone win over Murray in Madrid (on clay) in the spring.
Vs. Novak Djokovic: 0-3 -- but no matches after Rome.
Vs. Andy Roddick: 2-0 in '09 and 3-0 in his career in two finals and one semi.
Del Potro took the big step into the first tier of players during the hard-court season. The only guy who still appeared to have del Potro's number by the end of last year was Murray. And Djokovic, who's showing signs of resurgence, is a big question mark.
Murray, a former U.S. Open finalist, looms as the main, proven stumbling block to del Potro when he returns -- if del Potro can muster the kind of tennis he was playing at this time last year.
That's a big "if." Del Potro hasn't hit a ball in competition since January, and he isn't the kind of player who is likely to benefit from the extra rest provided by his enforced absence. In fact, del Potro is just 21 and is blessed with Ironman propensities. Remember, he first appeared on the radar in 2008, when he won four straight events at the most demanding time of year -- in the summer, after Wimbledon.
That streak was a testament to his versatility, too. He won the first two titles on clay and shifted to his preferred hard courts without missing a beat. He won in Los Angeles and Washington and showed no signs of slowing down until Murray (him again!) finally quelled the del Potro insurgency in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open.
A year later in New York, del Potro won the title.
The Argentine likes to go on rolls; it appears to build his confidence. His results in 2008 were impressive, but that win at Flushing Meadows last year didn't come out of the thin air, either. He won Washington and lost in the final of Cincinnati in the two events he played before the U.S. Open.
The big question is not whether del Potro will be able to play in the U.S. Open, but whether he'll get enough matches before the event to be at his best. I'm predicting that he'll play at least one event before he defends his title, and the news that he's hitting balls again supports the idea that he'd like to get a little match play under his belt before the last major of the year.
But consider this: The guy who beat del Potro in the final at Cincinnati last year was … you guessed it, Andy Murray.
So the X factor has an X factor of his own with which to contend.
http://espn.go.com/sports/tennis/blo...-us-open-title
Call Juan Martin del Potro the X factor for the upcoming U.S. Open. He's the defending champ, and the guy who first demonstrated that if you play a sufficiently big, physical game, you can take down the Roger Federers and Rafael Nadals of this world (Robin Soderling and Tomas Berdych clearly were paying attention).
As few as two weeks ago, del Potro's prospects for playing at Flushing Meadows looked dim. But now, the news out of Argentina is that del Potro has recovered from the surgery on his right wrist, is hitting tennis balls and is on track to defend his title in late August.
That ought to give the top contenders the heebie-jeebies.
When del Potro manhandled Federer in the final of the U.S. Open last September, it seemed like an epoch-ending match. For the first time in a big match on a surface other than clay, Federer met a man who could play him on Federer's terms and still win. It was no one-off performance, either. In the two previous rounds, del Potro had knocked off Marin Cilic and Nadal.
And del Potro backed up that inspired U.S. Open triumph. In the ensuing weeks and months, he beat Federer again and put up a good win over hard-charging Soderling. His year-end head-to-heads looked like this:
Vs. Federer: 2-0 in the latter half of '09, despite trailing 0-6 after his loss to Federer at Roland Garros in the spring.
Vs. Nadal: 3-0 in '09 after Indian Wells, where his record slipped to 0-4.
Vs. Andy Murray: 1-5, with two losses to Murray on hard courts in the summer. Del Potro's crafted his lone win over Murray in Madrid (on clay) in the spring.
Vs. Novak Djokovic: 0-3 -- but no matches after Rome.
Vs. Andy Roddick: 2-0 in '09 and 3-0 in his career in two finals and one semi.
Del Potro took the big step into the first tier of players during the hard-court season. The only guy who still appeared to have del Potro's number by the end of last year was Murray. And Djokovic, who's showing signs of resurgence, is a big question mark.
Murray, a former U.S. Open finalist, looms as the main, proven stumbling block to del Potro when he returns -- if del Potro can muster the kind of tennis he was playing at this time last year.
That's a big "if." Del Potro hasn't hit a ball in competition since January, and he isn't the kind of player who is likely to benefit from the extra rest provided by his enforced absence. In fact, del Potro is just 21 and is blessed with Ironman propensities. Remember, he first appeared on the radar in 2008, when he won four straight events at the most demanding time of year -- in the summer, after Wimbledon.
That streak was a testament to his versatility, too. He won the first two titles on clay and shifted to his preferred hard courts without missing a beat. He won in Los Angeles and Washington and showed no signs of slowing down until Murray (him again!) finally quelled the del Potro insurgency in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open.
A year later in New York, del Potro won the title.
The Argentine likes to go on rolls; it appears to build his confidence. His results in 2008 were impressive, but that win at Flushing Meadows last year didn't come out of the thin air, either. He won Washington and lost in the final of Cincinnati in the two events he played before the U.S. Open.
The big question is not whether del Potro will be able to play in the U.S. Open, but whether he'll get enough matches before the event to be at his best. I'm predicting that he'll play at least one event before he defends his title, and the news that he's hitting balls again supports the idea that he'd like to get a little match play under his belt before the last major of the year.
But consider this: The guy who beat del Potro in the final at Cincinnati last year was … you guessed it, Andy Murray.
So the X factor has an X factor of his own with which to contend.
http://espn.go.com/sports/tennis/blo...-us-open-title
