Former professional tennis players Leif Shiras and Annabel Croft have issued a warning to 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer and current World No. 2 Rafael Nadal.
Both Croft and Shiras believe former US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro, who defeated Federer in last week’s Indian Wells Masters final will now become the ultimate challenger to their supremacy on the men’s circuit.
Del Potro, whose career has been marred by multiple wrist injuries, which have required a series of surgeries is back to full fitness and has made a sensational start in 2018, winning the Mexican Open and the BNP Paribas Open back-to-back in Acapulco and California. He is currently on an 11-match winning streak and is one of the big favorites for the title in the ongoing Miami Open in Florida.
Croft said: “I think we all saw the quality when he was a young teenager and he burst on to the tour.
“Everybody knew this explosive, exciting games he possessed.
“Even in the final, it was quite amazing because we all love to watch Federer’s forehand, but when Del Potro was connecting with his, especially on the running forehand down the line, the oohs and the aahs from this crowd… They were absolutely gobsmacked by the sheer pace.
“It’s the timing he has when he connects with the ball, it was a sight to behold.
“It’s an unusual shot, a big backswing, but it’s the connection with it.
“Federer was slicing the ball, they were bouncing off the ground by an inch but Del Potro was still able to get his racket face under the ball to hit winners. It’s quite extraordinary.
“I’m not sure he’s ready to take Roger’s tag on the top of the game but he’s definitely putting himself in the mix.”
Shiras agreed and said: “He’s got a huge strikezone. He can hit it when it’s low, he can play it when it’s high. He’s a great volleyer.
“I’m surprised he doesn’t come to the net more with the way he reads balls and makes instinctive plays at the net.
“I feel like this guy is on a trajectory upwards.
“He’s going to be in the top five and maybe make a run even higher.”
