Can Juan Martin Del Potro Surprise the World Again?

Juan-Martin Del Potro is on the rise again! The Argentine crushed former top-10 player Radek Stepanek, 6-4, 6-0, to reach the second round of the BNP Paribas Masters in Indian Wells.

It might not be a significant win for many, but it's a very important one for the Argentine, who had not played a Masters 1000 event since the Paris Masters back in 2009.

On that occasion, Del Potro retired from his quarterfinal match against—guess who—Radek Stepanek.
It was the first time Del Potro had problems with his wrist.

His first-round victory will boost his confidence moving forward in this event.

Can he win Indian Wells? I highly doubt it!

But he can certainly upset few top-20 players.

It takes time to recover after being forced out of the game for 10 months—especially so soon after scaling the heights with a US Open triumph, as he did in 2009—but del Potro has put all that behind him now with his first ATP victory since returning to the tour.

The Argentine won in Delray Beach two weeks ago defeating Serbia's Janko Tipsarevic, 6-4, 6-4, in the final.

The Delray Beach International might not be Indian Wells, but tennis is a mind game, and winning a title anytime, anywhere fuels the confidence that every player needs to go on to greater things.

Del Potro then needed to take a break before Indian Wells and Miami, being also very realistic about the level of his game:

“I have played a lot of matches in three weeks, and I needed time,” he said. “I’m not in a hurry. I am feeling calm about my progress, but I need maybe 20 more matches before I can really compete with top-10 players.”

When the former World No. 4 was at his best he could fired bullets from both sides, which allowed him to beat Federer and Nadal.

After recovering from his wrist surgery, the risk is now that he is more careful when he has to fire forehand or backhand winners.

As we all know, it's impossible to beat a top-10 player if you are not fearless, which is why most players need at least five months before returning to the top level.

If the Tandil native can find the same rhythm he had back in the summer of 2009, then everything will be possible again.

I have no reason to doubt it won't happen, since the latest results are very encouraging.

From the start of Indian Wells until the end of Wimbledon, which is a gap of four months, the current World No. 90 will play all these events as an underdog.

If Del Potro wins a Masters 1000 event or can somehow reach the French Open semifinals again or the last stages of Wimbledon, then he will back at his best  before the US Open series start.