Juan Martin Del Potro continued his comeback run at the Delray Beach 250, by defeating qualifier John-Patrick Smith 6-4, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals.
The Argentinian, who also received good news in that he will be given a wildcard into the first Masters 1000 event of the year in Indian Wells, broke Smith twice in the first set and three times in the second. Despite displaying a good break game, the former Top 4 player showed definite signs of rustiness, as he was himself broken three times, once in the first and twice in the second, with Smith capitalising on all three of his break point opportunities. though it was not enough for the Australian to force a third set.
Del Potro mentioned that he felt “100 percent” exhausted after the match, though tiredness is not to be unexpected after such a long lay-off. Del Potro was pragmatic about expectations “I didn’t expect to play three matches in a row this week“. But that will now be the case for the former US Open Champion, as he will face arguably his toughest match of the week against Jeremy Chardy, the fifth seed, who along with Grigor Dimitrov, are the only two seeds left in the competition. Del Potro had enjoyed a favourable draw against an out-of-form Denis Kudla, and qualifier Smith, but Chardy is a different class entirely. However, Chardy is in indifferent form, struggling in parts against Noah Rubin, and if Del Potro can curb his fatigue, he could have every chance of progressing still further in this event.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=_mNM0RK5Qao
Despite Del Potro’s invitation to Indian Wells, he was typically cautious about his participation there, stating “I would like to be there for sure. If I finish here in good shape, we’ll see“. Having worked so hard to recover from yet another wrist surgery, the last thing Del Potro will want to do is to press too much so early in his comeback, and he displayed a cautious attitude throughout his recovery this year, opting to train through the Australian Open, rather than risk the wrist in the year’s first Grand Slam.
Del Potro’s potential semi-final opponent has now been narrowed down to two possibilities, as Tim Smyczek and Sam Querrey both won their second round matches to set up an all-American quarter-final in the top quarter of the draw. Querrey is in good form, having defeated Austin Krajicek 6-4, 6-3, and is coming off a semi-final run in Memphis, where he played a good three-setter against Kei Nishikori.
