French Open 2011: Can Juan Martin Del Potro Stop Novak Djokovic's Streak?

Juan Martin Del Potro was at the top of the ATP Tour and was able to win a Grand Slam (US Open) but then fell to a catastrophic injury. He has since re-commenced his journey to the top of the tennis world. On Friday, he will run into the ultimate opponent, Novak Djokovic.

Djokovic has much to play for, such as keeping his streak alive (extend it to 41 games) and continuing his journey towards his second Grand Slam of 2011. A win would possibly dethrone Nadal on clay and mark a new "King of Clay."

Del Potro also has a lot to play for: A win would mean that he is officially back amongst the elite, and back to where he was when he won in New York. A loss, on the other hand, would not help for his efforts back to the top and possibly slow him down.

Momentum

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PARIS, FRANCE - MAY 25: Novak Djokovic of Serbia looks on during the men's singles round two match between Victor Hanescu of Romania and Novak Djokovic of Serbia on day four of the French Open at Roland Garros on May 25, 2011 in Paris, France. (Photo by

Novak Djokovic is dominating the tennis world; he has gone undefeated all year. He is also on the brink of becoming the No. 1 player in the world. Many agree that Novak is currently the hottest player in sports. He is close to the record for most consecutive matches won (42).

A couple of months ago, Del Potro was nowhere to be seen. He dropped to No. 259 in November 2010. Six months later, he stands at No. 23 in the ATP.

He has come a long way since November and won many games in the process—obviously not as many as Novak, but enough for Del Potro to have confidence coming into the match.

Advantage: Novak Djokovic 

History in Paris

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PARIS, FRANCE - MAY 23: Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina plays a forehand during the men's singles first round match between Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina and Ivo Karlovic of Croatia on day two of the French Open at Roland Garros on May 23, 2011 i

Both Novak and Juan Martin have reached the semifinals in Paris. Novak was able to reach them in 2007 and 2008 but since then, has failed to reach them again. In 2009, Novak lost to Philipp Kohlschreiber, a consistent top-50 player that has never been able to take the leap into part of the elite. Last year, he gave up a two-set lead to J. Melzer in the quarters.

Novak has been unable to reach the second half of the last week in Paris in two years.

For the first three visits to Paris, Del Potro was able to get out of the first round once (where he lost in the second) but in 2009, he went all the way to the semis. He lost to Roger Federer in five sets, who went on to win the tournament. He has shown he is capable of succeeding in Paris, but will his "success" in 2009 carry into this year's tournament even after a year out of the game?

Advantage: Del Potro

Game

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PARIS, FRANCE - MAY 25: Novak Djokovic of Serbia serves during the men's singles round two match between Victor Hanescu of Romania and Novak Djokovic of Serbia on day four of the French Open at Roland Garros on May 25, 2011 in Paris, France. (Photo by M

Novak might have the most all-around game right now: His groundstrokes are near perfection, his serve is at the top of the tour and his confidence is higher than ever. During his streak, he has shown he is capable of defeating the tall players, the fast players and even the great players. Novak is at the top of his game.

The margin of difference between the top players and those chasing them is not very big; going into a match, anyone has a shot. Del Potro might be one of the players with the biggest chance of beating Djokovic and ending his streak. He has a fast serve that could get Novak in a defensive position early and use his height at the net to get some "easy" points.

Both players have games that are at the top of the tour but:

Advantage: Novak Djokovic 

First 2 Matches in Paris

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PARIS, FRANCE - MAY 23: Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina celebrates a point during the men's singles first round match between Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina and Ivo Karlovic of Croatia on day two of the French Open at Roland Garros on May 23, 2011

The first round was a breeze for Djokovic. He gave up six games and won in straight sets.

Del Potro faced a more challenging opponent, a similar player to himself, in Ivo Karlovic. Del Potro was able to come back from a set down and beat the Croat in four.

This shows positive aspects for both, Djokovic showing his dominance and Del Potro his willingness to come back and his skill (he played a harder opponent).

The second-round matches for both players were very similar, a three-set match that was not too competitive, giving them both time to rest for their third-round matchup (fatigue will not be an issue).

Djokovic has shown an unstoppable side of his game, dominating both games he has entered thus far. Will a tougher opponent be able to do damage?

Although he has played the best in the ATP recently, a tough opponent this early in a tournament could eventually affect his game.

Del Potro has shown to be able to handle a tough—but not even close to as tough—player against Karlovic as well as winning in style. Like Djokovic, he will have trained hard for this match and both will be ready for the showdown.

Advantage: Del Potro

Conclusion

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PARIS, FRANCE - MAY 25: Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates a point during the men's singles round two match between Victor Hanescu of Romania and Novak Djokovic of Serbia on day four of the French Open at Roland Garros on May 25, 2011 in Paris, France.

I believe that Del Potro will soon be back at the top of his game—maybe by this summer in the US Open—but he is not yet mentally or physically ready to be back at the top. Novak, on the other hand, is unstoppable this year and I don't believe Del Potro could be anything other than a bump in his road to the final. 

With recent injuries as well as losses before the clay season, Del Potro has shown that he is not yet ready. He will give Djokovic a challenge and might even take a set off of him because of his size and serve. He will come up short and will make a deeper run with a better draw next year in Paris.

Prediction: Djokovic d. Del Potro 6-4, 5-7, 7-6, 6-3