Juan Martin Del Potro found himself in an early hole, but recovered coolly to beat Nicolas Mahut 1-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4, to advance to the second round of the French Open.
The Argentine was easily dispatched 6-1 in the opening set, then quickly fought back with a pair of dominating set wins before seeing out the match in the fourth in his first appearance since injuring his groin in Rome two weeks ago. Hitting nine aces and winning 72% of the points behind his first serve.
“I’m glad to win a match in this Grand Slam. I think this is what the most important thing of the day, because I didn’t play my best tennis basically at the beginning of the match, but then I felt a little better,” Del Potro said. “And I’m looking forward to playing better in the next round.”
Del Potro rolled after the first set, facing no break points after that and dropping only three games in the middle sets.
That dominance looked unlikely after the first 23 minutes, when the 36-year-old Frenchman had an easy set in the bag against the No. 5 seed. Del Potro had six unforced errors to six winners, while Mahut took ruthless advantage on break points, converting two of three.
The second set saw a stark, near-identical reversal of fortunes. Del Potro, acting as if the opener had never happened, reeled off the first five games and converted his first set point to secure his own 6-1 set, both completed in less than an hour. The Argentine said, however, that the injury was not a factor in his slow start.
“The speed of the first two sets was very important to not remain stuck, because I had a lot of doubts in the beginning, and luckily I got over that,” Del Potro said. “I felt much more comfortable on the clay surface and in the game.”
Mahut kept the third frame suspenseful for a while, fighting off two break points from a 0-40 hole at 2-2 but eventually succumbing. Del Potro sprinted from there, winning 13 of the last 14 points of the set to edge in front.
The home favorite, who was given a wild card into the main draw, had a prime opportunity to regain level footing in the fourth set. He could not, however, capitalize on a 0-30 hole on Del Potro’s serve at 2-2; the Argentine then broke Mahut at love in the ensuing game. The world’s sixth ranked player then emphatically closed the match with a powerful volley into the open court and a fist pump before a long moment at the net with Mahut, who indicated that his French Open singles career may now be over.
“I must say that I was a bit surprised,” Del Potro said of the exchange. “I think that very soon you will know what we said when we were at the net, but it’s not for me to tell you.”
