Juan Martin Del Potro has made an incredible comeback to life on the ATP world tour, the question is can he transfer this form into the majors?
The Argentinian had an incredible year in 2016, after starting the year at world number 1045 after recovering from yet another wrist injury, Del Potro returned to the tour in style after winning a silver medal at the Olympics and won the Davis Cup for Argentina. He showed that a sliced backhand with a powerful forehand can get you far on the ATP World Tour, of course it’s not the same Del Potro that won his maiden grand slam but it is still a dangerous Argentinian on a mission. However the question is can Juan Martin Del Potro produce this kind of form on a consistent basis in grand slams?
There is no doubt he has the potential to blow anyone off the court at any given moment in a best out of five match, just ask Stan Wawrinka, Andy Murray and Marin Cilic. They all lost to the Tandil native in a best out of five set match in 2016 and there is no doubt that he can produce big form on the big stage. However it has been consistency that has been the key problem for the former US Open champion, it is losses to Lucas Pouille at Wimbledon that make fans doubt whether he can lift another major. No offence to Pouille of course, who is now world number 15, however Del Potro should be beating these kind of players on a grass court.
To win a grand slam you need the luck of the draw, you need to preserve energy and mostly play the best tennis of your life. The problem for Del Potro is that physical problems have denied him the chance to preserve energy to make any kind of run at a major event. After winning the Davis Cup for Argentina, he had announced in the offseason that he would miss the Australian Open. This is the type of factors that concern Del Potro’s fans, especially looking at the pace of the court in Melbourne he would have had a really good chance of going deep in Australia.
Now that Del Potro is world number 32, he could have a great chance of getting seeded for upcoming majors. If he can stay fit and healthy he can be a serious threat to the ‘big four’ and the rest of the pack in upcoming slams, with Wimbledon being his best opportunity. Only time will tell if the big man from Argentina can produce this form on a consistent basis.
