Juan Martin Del Potro is currently ranked 24th in the world after his run to the semi-finals of the US Open. For many players that would equal a good chance of making the year-ending ATP World Tour Finals. Unfortunately for Del Potro, the tall Argentine struggled through the beginning of the year, and opting to not play the Australian Open.
Yet despite his ranking of 24th in the world there are a number of reasons why Del Potro stands to have more than a reasonable chance to feature in the year-end finale.
Luck favours Del Potro in some ways, (though to be fair its about time the guy had some.) Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka, and Kei Nishikori have already announced that they will not play again in 2017. Andy Murray has also announced that he is ‘highly unlikely’ to play again. Add into the mix that Canada’s Milos Raonic is also struggling for form and fitness. It looks as if five, (and likely six given Gael Monfil’s dramatic loss of form) of the players who featured last year will not feature this year.
So many big names have ended their years very early, not only pulling out of the ATP World Tour Finals, if they would have even qualified, but they will also be absent from the final months of the tour. There are plenty of points for an opportunist to make a late run. There are two Masters 1000 events remaining in Shanghai and Paris-Bercy. Beijing/Tokyo, and Basel/Vienna are two big 500 events still to run, and there are a number of smaller 250 events. There is arguably no better time for Del Potro to attempt to win his first Masters 1000 title. With Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer already qualified, it is a strong possibility that either or both of them will opt to rest instead of playing Paris-Bercy given how close the Masters is to World Tour Finals.
Del Potro also has no Davis Cup concerns, with Argentina having been beaten in the first round of their title defence against Italy. Some of the Argentine’s competitors for places in London still have Davis Cup involvement, chiefly Nick Kyrgios, David Goffin, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Other players may also find themselves involved in crucial play-off matches.
Looking at Del Potro’s competition and how they fare currently compared to the Argentine, it makes for good reading for Del Potro fans. Wimbledon finalist Marin Cilic did not play between the final and the US Open, and the Croat lost early to Diego Schwartzmann. It looks as if the exploits of reaching the Wimbledon final have had a physical and emotional impact. Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev look to have almost qualified along with Federer, but that still leaves four places available. Grigor Dimitrov also looks well-placed to attend London for the first time.
Beyond Cilic, no one else in the Top 15, who looks in contention, have qualified directly for London before (David Goffin served as an alternate last year.) Del Potro is hot on the heels of other Finals veterans Tsonga and Tomas Berdych in the race, and is considerably better form than the pair. The rest are the opportunists who have found their way to major success for the first time this year, such as Kevin Anderson, Pablo Carreno Busta, and Sam Querrey.
Del Potro is at a disadvantage due to his poor start and lack of points from Australasia, and as such will almost certainly need to win at least one of the Masters to drag himself into contention. Yet, he is fresher for the selective schedule he has played so far this year, and is in terrific form having beaten two Top 10 players in the US Open, and taking Rafael Nadal to four sets. Every player needs a goal to continue to be motivated after the final Grand Slam of the year, and the ATP World Tour Finals could be a tough, ambitious, yet achievable goal for Del Potro.
