In the wake of his first top-20 scalp for 17 months, Juan Martin Del Potro is on the right road to the top of his game. The Argentine is certainly getting nearer, but he himself has admitted that there is still a lot more needed to do.
“I’m getting closer every day, but still I’m very far away from my highest level,” Del Potro reflectively said in Madrid.
Plagued by a troublesome wrist injury, the 27-year-old returned to the tour at the Delray Beach Open after being absent for almost a year. In his comeback, the Argentine has experienced a solid return with a win-loss of 5-3 (prior to Madrid). At Delray Beach he reached the semifinals, but today’s win over Thiem in Madrid stands out as the highlight of his season so far.
“I felt good. I’ve had a great test against a very high-level player. During some moments I felt very comfortable,” he said about playing Thiem.
“Incredibly, I was able to win the match and I’m in the next round in a very tough tournament.”
The win over Thiem isn’t a surprise given Del Potro’s outstanding talent that has taken him to the US Open title and fourth in the world rankings. The shocking thing is how near the triumph has occurred to his return to the tour. Madrid is his sixth tournament this year and only his second tournament on clay since 2013.
Since the 2014 BNP Paribas Masters, the Argentine has missed 20 months of the tour due to a series of surgeries on his left wrist. After spending such a lengthy absence from the tour, Del Potro has to once again learn how to play on the court without doing further damage to his wrist. Fortunately, for the former world No.4 he is once again starting to hit the ball in matches without fearing the worst.
“I’m starting to feel natural,” he said about the style of his current game.
“ I’m feeling much better with my backhand in this tournament than a couple months ago. That means that very good improvement on my game”.
The emotional journey that Del Potro had to endure in recent time was evident for everybody to see in Madrid. As the realization of his win over Thiem started to surface, tears started to fall down the Argentine’s face.
“I wasn’t crying because I had to leave or because my wrist were hurting or anything. I was just very happy about it,” he said.
The future for Del Potro is one with encouraging signs, but also with a lot of caution. He refuses to think about titles as he focuses on winning matches to boost his current ranking position of 274th in the world.
“I would like to play every single competition, but today that’s not the reality. I go week by week. If I feel good, I’ll put up the level in the calendar and also the number of tournaments I attend,” Del Potro said about his future plans.
Del Potro will face Jack Sock in the third round on Wednesday. A win over the American will take him to his first Masters quarterfinal since the 2013 Paris Open.
