Becoming Number Juan: Why Del Potro Will Rise To The Top of Tennis

It’s in mid-august--already more than half-way through the tennis year of 2008--and a tournament under the name of Legg Mason is being played. It is the much sought after finals. Neither players playing held a ranking of under 15. A game that was being played with not much significance.

But, this game ended up being one of the more important matches played of the year. Del Potro vs. Victor Troiki; Potro held a winning streak of three straight tournaments. The first of them being the first ever for him. In this match against the falling Troiki, Potro had the opportunity to seize four straight tournament medals, ultimately moving him up the rankings and setting his tone as one of the best players in the ATP, a player to be reckoned with.

This was not only a day where he won--once again--an immense component of prize cash, but a day where he set himself apart from all the others in the nature of these little spoken-about tournaments. 

Fast forward--it’s now 2009, nearing the end of the year. What has Del Potro done since to prove that those four cups were no fluke?

If winning the U.S open, beating Federer and Nadal during the tremendous run, reaching the semi-finals in the French, and climbing to the more-than respectable ranking of five means anything to you, Del Potro has more than lived up to even the utmost of expectations.

Because we’re nearing the new tennis year, there has been more than enough predictions already made by analysts, determining who will finish the season where. It concerns Nadal’s fall, Federer’s dominance, even Djokovic making Federer’s and Nadal’s historical rivalry into a trivalry. Murray, every now and then, gets his own well-deserved share of respect throughout the forecasts. Potro, on the other hand, has been mentioned hardly any times, much less than persons with rankings lower than him (e.g.: Roddick, Davydenko).

But what have we really learned over the past year? Federer can’t handle Nadal well, Nadal has been faltering, Djokovic can’t beat either, and Murray has continuously lost to no-names, and is yet to win a grand-slam. On the contrary, what problems have actually been posed to Del Potro? He’s beat both in the U.S open, making history in the act, has won a grand-slam, and, apart from Wimbledon in a gigantic upset, has done well in each solitary given tournament.

Past years, though, can be deceiving. Completely deceiving. Cilic, to name one of the few, had consecutive wins in back to back tournaments against Federer and Murray, and his ranking reached its apex. Haas had a startling run, and then completely fell under the radar; all this led to yet another remarkable run that he held this year.

As apparent, precedent games, matches, tournaments, can be completely and utterly misleading.

So, it’s never 100% safe to say who will do what in future years or tournaments; it’s obviously impossible to determine how well Del Potro will do as well, starting in six days (the new tennis year), but it’s never to risky to make an educated guess. Though apparently under-mined by many an expert, Del Potro has proven time and time again that his name can very easily be placed amongst the greats in the up-coming year.

Del Potro has not shown that he carries any obvious kryptonite, and has not demonstrated any palpable weakness. A weakness, an Achilles Heel you might say, is what almost always leads to a sudden demise of a player (when you don’t take in account age). Federer (Nadal), Nadal (injuries), Djokovic (Nadal, Federer), and Murray (losing to no-names), all have there own singular weaknesses, weaknesses that may seem little, but will ultimately be the down-fall of their career.

The first big tournament, or namely grand-slam, coming up is the much sought about Australian Open. Del Potro walked into Australia as a very much under-dog type player, and didn’t really exceed many expectations. He obliterated in the first four rounds, sparking some recognition. Then came the quarters; Federer had been playing exceptionally well, and was the favorite to take home the gold. This match-up wasn’t meant to be such a biggie; and it wasn’t. In three easy sets, Del Potro was sent home. This was the first time playing Federer in a Grand-Slam, and you could see the sweats of nervousness (and probably fatigue) running down the Argentine tennis savior.

Federer made it into a historical final, losing to Nadal. This year, not so much; Nadal has not been near the same of a quality player ever since the injury in the French Open, and the Australian isn’t looking too fresh from him. Federer is still a favorite, but could possibly still be devastated from his loss to Del Potro, and would undoubtedly be somewhat scared to play him (much like how he grew to become scared of Nadal).

To clarify more, Del Potro’s best court, by a fair amount, is the hard-court. Murray has yet to win a grand-slam, and seemingly chokes up every time he plays in one; Djokovic retires in extensive heat, which Australia is sure to be.

My prediction: Del Potro beats Federer in a highly-anticipated final match. With no clear opponent, or one without a sure flaw, Del Potro shouldn’t have the toughest tournament.

Potro is sure to have a vastly good year, one that puts him atop of tennis. Djokovic, it was rumored, was bound to make a trivalry with the two best players in the ATP. It has yet to happen. Del Potro has already beaten the likes of both of them in Grand-Slams, and is one of the few players to do so. A trivalry with Nadal, Federer, and Del Potro would not only be probable—it would be interesting. Three players, all capable of beating each other.

But, could it, just maybe in an unpredictable league, be possible that Del Potro leads the way in this trivalry? Could it?

Face the facts—Potro has not yet displayed any sign of any weakness, has no clear opponent that beats him to it every time, and has beaten the top two “un-beatable” players in Tennis. He’s the youngest of the three, and has just gotten started.

Potro could lead this trivalry---and the rest of tennis.