@theonejoeyd
Right now, tennis has never been more popular. Sure, there are aspects of the sport that traditionalists like myself are dissatisfied with, but to the casual fan the personalities at the top of the game have never been more marketable and appealing.
This is mainly on account of the so-called Big Four of men's tennis- the legendary Swiss maestro Roger Federer, winner of 17 Grand Slams, the Spanish topspin warrior Rafael Nadal who has 11 of his own, the new dominant force from Serbia, Novak Djokovic, whose Slam collection is currently at six and Britain's own Braveheart Andy Murray, whose identification alongside the aforementioned trio was legitimised in his 2012 Olympic gold medal and his first Grand Slam championship at the US Open.
However, there is one trivia question many cannot decipher the answer to- who is the only player besides these elite athletes to have won one of tennis' grandest prizes in the last seven years? Well after a splendid run in this week's Indian Wells Masters 1000 event, those who did not know, now certainly do.
Juan Martin Del Potro, who was on the junior tour at the same time as Murray, achieved an extremely underrated accomplishment at the 2009 US Open when he defeated Nadal and Federer back-to-back to secure the title- he annihilated Rafa 6-2 6-2 6-2 and then in the final against Roger he managed to outlast the man with the most Grand Slam titles in the history of the sport and subsequently enter the champions' pantheon.
Because regardless of what misguided tennis 'connoisseurs' may opine with regards to players with even one Slam, even just obtaining one is a phenomenal feat- especially in this era where the physical endurance levels and emphasis on fitness and conditioning are so intense. Del Potro defeated two of the greatest players of all time to win his US Open, and that warrants irrefutable kudos.
Why has he not backed it up, you may wonder? Well after the 2010 Australian Open, the first major after his glorious triumph in New York, he suffered a severe wrist injury which kept him sidelined from the ATP Tour that year for eight months, and he was unable to defend his US Open. Sure, we shall never know what circumstances would have occurred had this not happened, but his loss to the tour was influential. In 2011, his first full comeback year, it took a while to reach a strong level of play, but he had his share of positive moments such as the semi final in Indian Wells and an admirable effort against Nadal in the 4th round of Wimbledon. Last year it was the very best players getting in his way in the important tournaments, and more niggly injuries.
As a personality Juan Martin is extremely likeable and complimentary towards his peers, including Murray, whom he once experienced a bit of needle with in their first senior match in Rome back in 2008. They are now good friends. At Indian Wells this week they competed against each other for the first time since Del Potro's wrist agony and the Argentine, fittingly in a week in which his countryman Jorge Mario Bergoglio secured the papacy in the Vatican, came from a set down to gain his first hard court win over the Scot (his only other victory had been attained on red clay) in what was an impressive mental triumph over the current US Open champion.
But that was not the end of it- he then recovered again from dropping the opening set to overcome current world #1 and Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, ending his 22-match winning streak and reaching the final to face Rafael Nadal. As I write this, the match has yet to take place, but regardless of the result, Del Potro has demonstrated again, after serious bad luck on the injury front, why he has won a Grand Slam championship and why he is a perfectly valid challenger to acquire more. He is the unarguable fifth best player on the planet- not David Ferrer, who has worked very hard in spite of his limitations, but offers absolutely zero threat to the real top four. However, 'Delpo' as he is known by his fans, offers plenty of that and more.
Come Roland Garros time, Juan Martin Del Potro's name will be considered among the contenders and rightly so. He is a great competitor and champion and deserves more respect and acclaim than he receives from those who assume there are only four great champions on the ATP tour in the present.
And as long as he can remain healthy and schedule adequately, he may yet add to his Grand Slam trophy cabinet in the not too distant future.
by Joey Davies
@theonejoeyd
by Joey Davies
No comments:
Post a Comment