Juan Martin del Potro
Państwo - Argentyna
Miejsce zamieszkania - Tandil
Data i miejsce urodzenia - 23 września 1988, Tandil
Wzrost - 198 cm
Masa ciała - 78 kg
Gra - praworęczna, oburęczny backhand
Status profesjonalny - 2005
Trener - Franco Davin
Juan Martín del Potro (ur. 23 września 1988 w Tandil), argentyński tenisista, mistrz US Open z 2009 roku. Del Potro po raz pierwszy w karierze znalazł się w czołowej dziesiątce rankingu ATP 6 października 2008 roku. 11 stycznia 2010 roku awansował na najwyższe w karierze 4. miejsce w rankingu.
W sierpniu 2008 został pierwszym zawodnikiem w historii ATP, który wygrał cztery pierwsze tytuły w czterech kolejnych turniejach. W 2008 roku był drugi pod względem liczby zwycięstw z rzędu, oraz miał drugą serię liczby kolejnych zwycięstw wśród nastolatków w erze open po Rafaelu Nadalu. W tym czasie Del Potro wygrał 23 kolejne pojedynki w pięciu turniejach.
Juan Martín del Potro urodził się w argentyńskim Tandil w prowincji Buenos Aires. Ojciec Daniel del Potro trenował rugby i jest weterynarzem. Matka Juana Martina, Patricia jest nauczycielką. Ma młodszą siostrę Julietę. Del Potro zna hiszpański oraz trochę angielski i włoski. Prócz tenisa Del Potro interesuje się piłką nożną i kibicuje argentyńskiemu Boca Juniors i włoskiemu Juventusowi Turyn. W dzieciństwie poświęcał wiele czasu obu tym sportom, a włoski piłkarz o argentyńskim pochodzeniu Mauro Camoranesi pozostaje jego bliskim przyjacielem.
Przygodę z tenisem rozpoczął w wieku siedmiu lat pod okiem Marcelo Gómeza (który opiekował się również innymi tenisistami pochodzącymi z Tandil takimi jak: Juan Mónaco, Mariano Zabaleta czy Máximo González). Talent Del Potro został odkryty przez byłego włoskiego tenisistę Ugo Columbiniego, który towarzyszył mu od wczesnych etapów kariery, a dzisiaj pozostaje jego agentem i bliskim przyjacielem. Kiedy zapytano go o największe tenisowe marzenie odpowiedział: Marzę o wygraniu Wielkiego Szlema i Pucharu Davisa.
Styl gry
Del Potro to typowy przykład zawodnika atakującego zza końcowej linii. Prócz wysokiego wzrostu, który jest bardzo pomocny przy serwisie, posiada również potężny forhend. Z drugiej strony forhend jest u niego zdecydowanie bardziej zawodnym uderzeniem niż bekhend. Del Potro jest jednocześnie uważany za jednego z najlepiej poruszających się zawodników w tourze, dobrze biegającego po odmiennych typach nawierzchni takich jak ceglana mączka i korty twarde. Ulubionymi nawierzchniami Argentyńczyka są właśnie korty twarde i ceglane, ale jego styl gry pasuje do wszystkich rodzajów kortów.
http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Mart%C3%ADn_del_Potro
Ulubiona nawierzchnia: korty twarde
Juniorski Mistrz Orange Bowl 2002
Gdyby nie był tenisistą to zostałby architektem.
Trener od przygotowania fizycznego: Martiniano Orazi (od lutego 2010)
Profil na stronie ATP: http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Play … Potro.aspx
Profil na stronie ITF: http://www.itftennis.com/mens/players/p … =100036002
Przed rozpoczęciem jego zwycięskiej serii widziałem go w akcji zaledwie parokrotnie. Nie zrobił na mnie zbyt wielkiego wrażenia. Moje odczucia nie zmieniły się również po obejrzeniu jego występów podczas USO. Wg mnie jest bardzo sztywny, ma niestety ubogi repertuar zagrań, a obszerny zamach przed uderzeniem nie predestynuje go do szybkiej kombinacyjnej gry. Jego koordynacja ruchowa z racji wzrostu również nie może być zbyt rewelacyjna. Ogółem mówiąc może krążyć wokół światowej czołówki, jednak nie widzę dla niego miejsca w "czubie" rozgrywek.
Ja widziałem go dotąd w trzech meczach, wszyskie przegrał w fatalnym stylu :D Więc dla mnie Del Potro-wielki talent, to jakaś kompletna abstrakcja :D Wygląda on jak żywy trup i z taka właśnie gracją i dynamiką się porusza :D
Niby bekhend ładny dobry, ale generalnie jakoś mi nie pasi, pewnie ze względu na wpamniane wyżej wielgachne zamachy. Trzeba poczekać na naprawdę ważne macze z grczami Top3(+ Maryj, który go na uso ograł), żeby coś konkretniej powiedzieć.
#1) Stuttgart 2008
R32 Evgeny Korolev (KAZ) 6-3, 7-5
R16 Simone Bolelli (ITA) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
Q Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) 7-6(3), 6-3
S Eduardo Schwank (ARG) 6-2, 6-4
W Richard Gasquet (FRA) 6-4, 7-5
#2) Kitzbuhel 2008
R32 Josselin Ouanna (FRA) 6-3, 6-3
R16 Sergio Roitman (ARG) 6-2, 6-4
Q Nicolas Devilder (FRA) 6-2, 6-3
S Victor Hanescu (ROU) 6-3, 7-6(5)
W Jurgen Melzer (AUT) 6-2, 6-1
#3) Los Angeles 2008
R32 Bye
R16 Andrea Stoppini (ITA) 6-4, 6-2
Q Amer Delic (BIH) 7-6(6), 6-2
S Mardy Fish (USA) 6-2, 6-1
W Andy Roddick (USA) 6-1, 7-6(2)
#4) Waszyngton 2008
R32 Jesse Levine (USA) 6-2, 6-3
R16 Dudi Sela (ISR) 6-0, 5-7, 6-2
Q John Isner (USA) 6-4, 6-4
S Tommy Haas (GER) 6-2, 6-1
W Viktor Troicki (SRB) 6-3, 6-3
19 wygranych spotkań z rzędu, do porażki z Murrayem na US Open 2008 23. ;)
#5) Auckland 2009
R32 BYE
R16 Gulbis, Ernests (LAT) 4-6 6-4 6-1
Q Troicki, Viktor (SRB) 6-3 6-2
SF Soderling, Robin (SWE) 6-4 6-3
F Querrey, Sam (USA) 6-4 6-4
Ten Argentyńczyk jest genialny. C'mon Juan!
Czołówka rankingu ATP World Tour 25 maja 2009 roku:
1.( 1.) Rafael Nadal (Hiszpania) 14 960 pkt
2.( 2.) Roger Federer (Szwajcaria) 10 470
3.( 3.) Andy Murray (W.Brytania) 9 020
4.( 4.) Novak Djokovic (Serbia) 8 830
5.( 5.) Juan Martin del Potro (Argentyna) 4 830
#6) Washington 2009 
R48 Bye
R32 Y.Lu 4/6 6/3 6/2
R16 L.Hewitt 4/6 6/3 7/6
QF R.Soderling(5) w/o
SF F.Gonzalez(4) 7/6 6/3
W A.Roddick(1) 3/6 7/5 7/6
#7) US Open 2009
R128 Juan Monaco (ARG) 6-3, 6-3, 6-1
R64 Jurgen Melzer (AUT) 7-6(6), 6-3, 6-3
R32 Daniel Koellerer (AUT) 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
R16 Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) 6-3, 6-3, 6-3
Q Marin Cilic (CRO) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1
S Rafael Nadal (ESP) 6-2, 6-2, 6-2
W Roger Federer (SUI) 3-6, 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-2
Juan Martin del Potro said when he was on the ropes in the US Open final he simply looked across the net and studied Roger Federer.
The young Argentine said he drew inspiration from his opponent, the all-time Slam title holder, and the urging of around 23,000 fans at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The 20-year-old Del Potro delivered, fighting back from a two-sets-to-one deficit for a 3-6 7-6 4-6 7-6 6-2 victory over the Swiss master, who leads the list with 15 Major titles.
Sixth seed Del Potro's darkest moment came at the end of the third set, which he handed to the world number one by double-faulting on the last two points.
"At that moment I start to think (I'm in) the final, playing with Roger, the best player in history. I have nothing to lose," the 6'6" Argentine said.
"Two sets to one down, I think, 'okay, you never lose until the last point, so keep fighting'. The crowd helped me - and they saw my fight in every point."
The Argentine has made a fast climb up the rankings, being the youngest man in the year-end top 10 in 2008, and his immaturity almost showed at the crucial moment.
The soft-spoken man with the scruffy beard and booming forehand nearly took his frustrations out on his racket after that third-set debacle but checked himself before smashing it.
"For respect to myself and respect to everyone else, I don't do that," he said. "Maybe when I felt nervous I saw Roger and he's a gentleman player, you know. We have to learn many things from him. Many times I did that today."
Del Potro had to deal with the jitters at the start of the match and struggled to keep up with the elegant Swiss player, who was seeking to win the US Open for the sixth time in a row.
"At the beginning of the match I was so nervous, I couldn't sleep last night. I didn't have breakfast today," he said. "That's part of the final, you know."
He waited until the 10th game of the second set to register his first service break and that started to build his confidence, but losing that painful third set put Del Potro's back against the wall.
"If I had lost the fourth-set tiebreak I would have lost the match. I played some unbelievable points," he said about winning the decider 7-4 to force a fifth set.
"Maybe Roger felt the nerves, because (going for) his sixth straight tournament is difficult."
Del Potro knows it can be hard to live up to expectations. Last summer he won four events in a row before the Open, only to lose in the quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows.
Working on his fitness and improving his serve, he rebounded this year to reach the French Open semi-finals, where he took two of the first three sets against Federer before the Swiss prevailed on his way to the title.
Del Potro was able to turn the tables on the world number one, bolstered by 37 winners from his flat, bullet-like forehand.
The Del Potro progression also carried him past six-times Major winner Rafael Nadal in Sunday's semi-final, but the Argentine refused to be get carried away by thoughts of starting a collection of Grand Slam hardware.
"I don't know, I just want to live this moment," he said. "Of course I will be in the history of this tournament. That's amazing for me.
"I have other opportunities to win other Grand Slams... if I beat Nadal, Federer and many other good players, maybe I can do it once more."
To będzie (może już jest?) wielki zawodnik. Braki w możliwościach motorycznych i koordynacyjnych nadrabia ciężką pracą, skromnością i nieodpartą chęcią podnoszenia swoich umiejętności. Ujął mnie Argentyńczyk swoją skromnością i uznaniem dla rywali, co widać w wywiadach przez Niego udzielanych. Wielkie brawa i słowa uznania dla Niego.
Juan Martin Del Potro to 2 zawodnik z Ameryki Południowej i zarazem drugi Argentyńczyk, który wygrał US Open. Wcześniej, w 1977 roku, sztuki tej dokonał legendarny Guillermo Vilas.
DUN I LOVE napisał:
Wcześniej, w 1997 roku, sztuki tej dokonał legendarny Guillermo Vilas.
Znakomite osiągnięcie w wieku 45 lat. :D
xDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
Czekałem aż Dawid sam się zreflektuje, ale widać potrzebne było publiczne wyśmianie :P.
To co Dun napisał, wielki upór,determinacja,waleczność. No kto by pomyślał nawet rok temu, że ten człowiek ogra Federera w finale Wielkiego Szlema.
Niesamowicie ujmująca jest skromność i szacunek dla przeciwników, Juan Martin zdaje sobie sprawę, że technicznie odbiega od chociażby wyżej wymienonego Rogera czy też Murraya, jednak nadrabia atrybutami mentalnymi, ale także należy zauważyć bardzo duży postęp w umiejętnościach czysto tenisowych.
Kto wie, może to nie Djoković, nie Murray, a właśnie Del Potro obejmie pozycję lidera męskich rozgrywek?
Co za wstyd, pomyliłem cyfry :P 1977 naturalnie :)
Juan Martin Del Potro po zwycięstwie nad Rogerem Federerem w finale US Open przyznał, że poczuł się najszczęśliwszym człowiekiem na świecie. - W finale wszystko było idealne - powiedział Argentyńczyk.
To pierwsze w karierze zwycięstwo del Potro w turnieju wielkoszlemowym. Mierzący 198 cm wzrostu, 20-letni Argentyńczyk przełamał serię Szwajcara, który triumfował na twardych kortach Flushing Meadows pięć razy z rzędu.
- Marzyłem o tym trofeum, jak byłem mały. To nieprawdopodobne. To najlepsze uczucie w moim życiu, ale jest jeszcze za wcześnie, aby to opisać. Nadal nie rozumiem co się dzieje. Miałem w ostatnich siedmiu dniach dwa marzenia. Pierwsze to wygrać US Open i drugie być szczęśliwym 20-latkiem. W finale wszystko było idealne: gra, publiczność... Kiedy upadłem na ziemię po ostatniej piłce, wszystkie rzeczy przeszły mi przez głowę: rodzina, przyjaciele, marzenia i to, że przyniosę do domu trofeum - powiedział niezwykle szczęśliwy Del Potro.
Starszy od rywala o osiem lat Federer szybko wygrał pierwszego seta. W drugim lepszym w tie-breaku 7-5 był Del Potro. Po trzecim przegranym secie 4:6 poźniejszy zwycięzca nie tracił rezonu i powoli przejmował inicjatywę. Brawa przynosił mu znakomicie bity forhand, który tak dotkliwie dał się we znaki w półfinałowym meczu Hiszpanowi Rafaelowi Nadalowi.
- Kiedy wygrałem Tiebreak w drugim secie, wtedy właśnie poczułem, że mam szansę wygrać ten mecz. Ale po kolejnym miałem mnóstwo negatywnych myśli. Ciężko było kontynuować walkę. Ale publiczność cały czas pomagała mi. Muszę przy tym, wszystkim, którzy mi kibicowali bardzo podziękować. To mi dodawało wiary, że mogę wygrać z najlepszym tenisistą w historii. Teraz wiem, że pokonując Nadala i Federer jestem w stanie walczyć o kolejne wielkoszlemowe triumfy - dodał Argentyńczyk.
City Erupts After 'The Tower Of Tandil' Triumphs
The town of Tandil, populated by just 110,000 people and located 360 kilometres from Buenos Aires, does not have a big tennis tradition. Apart from Guillermo Perez-Roldan, there have been few noteworthy players from this largely agricultural region, famous for its salami, cheese and beef.
The glory years began in the late 1990s, when Mariano Zabaleta burst through as junior World No. 1. Inspired by their countryman’s success, the floodgates opened for a wealth of talent from the farming area - with Juan Martin del Potro the jewel in the crown.
Del Potro’s introduction to tennis came about by sheer chance. Despite his stature of 6’6’’, the right-hander has never played basketball or volleyball. It was football where his sporting pedigree was first harnessed and while waiting for training to begin one day he whiled away the time by picking up a racquet and starting to play tennis against the wall of Club Independiente in Tandil. He was instantly taken with the game and began tennis lessons with Marcelo Gomez, former coach to Zabaleta, Juan Monaco, Diego Junqueira and Maximo Gonzalez.
Gomez began his stewardship of Del Potro when he was just five years old. By age eight, he was playing national tournaments with boys two years older than him and by the time he turned nine, he was competing in the South American Championships. Football was long forgotten.
Sport runs in the del Potro blood - Juan Martin’s father, Daniel, is an avid follower of rugby and football, also a great passion of the 20 year old who pledges his allegiance to the famed Boca Juniors. His mother, Patricia, is a teacher and he has a younger sister, Julieta, to whom he gave the Mercedes Benz sports car that he won with his first ATP World Tour title at the MercedesCup in Stuttgart.
If he had not made it is a professional sportsman in either tennis or football, del Potro would have studied architecture – a subject he plans to take up again in the future.
For now though, his tennis career continues to go from strength to strength at a startling rate and his hometown cheered his every winner as he contested his first major final – just nine days shy of his 21st birthday.
All the players and coaches at Club Independiente gathered together to follow the US Open final on a big screen. With Marcelo Gomez in the first row, they celebrated jubilantly as “The Tower of Tandil” backed up his stunning semi-final win over Rafael Nadal by edging five-time defending champion Roger Federer in five pulsating sets to become just the second South American winner of the US Open trophy.
“Juan Martin has just made history in Argentine tennis," declared an emotional Gomez.
“At the age of 20, he beats No. 1-ranked Federer to win the US Open. I don't think he understands the magnitude of what he's just accomplished. We have a work method in Tandil. People here celebrated in the streets as if we had just won the soccer World Cup.”
Delighted, the whole town came out waving Argentine flags in celebration and causing traffic jams as they danced on top of their cars. Coach Gomez was hoisted aloft by friends of Del Potro as chants of "Ole, olé, Delpo, Delpo" rang through the streets.
While Tandil was the epicentre of the delirious celebrations, the rest of the country came to a stand still to follow the fortunes of the nation’s greatest tennis player. During the four hours of the match, the streets were deserted as bars in Buenos Aires were full to bursting with locals cheering every point del Potro won before erupting in a final roar and spilling onto the streets as the 20 year old ended Federer’s five-year reign at Flushing Meadows.
Tandil is already preparing to welcome back del Potro, who will return from New York on Wednesday morning. The town’s mayor, Miguel Lunghi, has announced that del Potro will be named Ambassador for Sports.
“We will welcome him back with every honour possible, just as he deserves,” declared Lunghi on various radio stations Tuesday. The parade will pass through the streets of Tandil, going past the Club Independiente before finishing with a party in the town centre.
The next goal for the locals of Tandil is to celebrate the first Argentine to reach the No. 1 spot in the South African Airways ATP Rankings. Nobody can take away their right to dream.
http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis … Potro.aspx
Statystyki Sharka:
http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis … Potro.aspx
As the celebrations continue in Tandil and throughout Argentina, Juan Martin del Potro’s achievement at the US Open has drawn praise from his fellow Argentine players and sports stars.
The legendary Guillermo Vilas, who was the first – and only other – South American man to win the US Open (when it was contested on clay in 1977) said: “Juan Martin undoubtedly showed how to be a champion. I saw how he played the whole match and it is amazing that he has won the US Open at such a young age.”
Gabriela Sabatini, the Argentine who won the US Open trophy in 1990, also heaped praise on the 20-year-old del Potro. “Congratulations to Juan Martin and his whole team for this extraordinary triumph. I would like to highlight the maturity he showed in the final and throughout the whole tournament. This shows that he is one of the best players in the world. I am delighted that another Argentine has won a Grand Slam title.”
World No. 37 Juan Monaco, a great friend of del Potro’s and fellow Tandil native, blogged his excitement immediately. “It’s so exciting. I have known him since he first joined Club Independiente and I can’t believe it. We all knew he would win a Grand Slam at some point, but to do it so young shows what a great player he is going to be.”
Monaco added, “The great thing about Juan is that he is just getting started. I have believed in him for a long time. I know that he is going to be World No. 1 and this step is so important for him. I know his goals and this achievement is going to make him believe even more that his game is good enough to be the best in the world.”
Monaco, who lost to del Potro in the first round of the US Open, said of the final: “I watched the first two sets in the gym while I was training. Afterwards I went home to watch the rest in peace and quiet. It was so exciting and I cried afterwards because I love Juan like a brother.”
Former World No. 3 David Nalbandian, who reached the Wimbledon final in 2002 (l. to Hewitt), told of his joy at del Potro’s success. “It’s a great triumph for Argentine tennis and shows that anything is possible. What Juan Martin did was fantastic. He is the first of the new crop of Argentine players to win a major title.”
The winner of the 2005 Tennis Masters Cup pointed out that “Juan Martin showed that anything is possible and this brings a lot of joy to all Argentine players. On Monday he showed what a great player he is - in a Grand Slam final against no less than the very best, Roger Federer, who also played a great match."
One of Argentina’s greatest-ever basketball players, Emanuel Ginobili wrote about the match on Twitter. After del Potro had fought from a break down to level the match at one-set-all, the San Antonio Spurs player tweeted: “Vamooooooooossssss!! I’m shouting!! 1-1. Vamos Delpo! /// Great set by DelPotro. 1-1 and trying hard against the best”. At the end of the match the jubilant Ginobili posted: “How exciting!!! Wonderful!! We’re going crazy!! GREAT DELPO!!! What joy you have brought to us!”
Former player and ex-Davis Cup captain, Alberto Mancini said: “Without doubt Juan Martin can be World No. 1. He has improved beyond measure this season, but he is still only 20 years old and has not yet reached his full potential.”
Of a similar opinion is Toni Nadal, coach and uncle to six-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal. “I have said for a long time that del Potro could be World No. 1. He has the best chance of doing it, along with (Andy) Murray and (Novak) Djokovic.”
del Potro Begins Homecoming Tour In Buenos Aires
Newly-crowned US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro completed the first stage of his home-coming tour on Wednesday. Just 48 hours after he captured his first Grand Slam title in New York, the 20 year old was greeted at Ezeiza international airport by hundred of fans.
At a news conference in Buenos Aires, del Potro expressed his intention to win the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at London in November and becoming a World No. 1 in future.
Del Potro Joins World’s Elite At Barclays ATP World Tour Finals
"It was a dream I had when I was very little, to win the U.S. Open, my favourite tournament," said del Potro. “Obviously my big dream is reach to the No. 1 in the world, but it is a long and winding road. There are several top players. Roger is still a cut above the rest and [Andy] Murray is having a great year. I'm trying to close the gap.
“The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals is my next goal. It’s good that I’ve already qualified and don’t have to be making calculations in my next tournaments.”
The World No. 5 will travel to his hometown of Tandil, approximately 350 kilometres south-west of Buenos Aires, where he is expected to parade through the small town on a fire engine on Thursday.
“I want to see my family, my friends and start to enjoy this,” he smiled. “My life will not change. I won’t change my way of life. I just achieved a great dream, but I still have the same friends. And I have my family. They will not let it change my way of being.”
Del Potro also publicly thanked his coach Franco Davin, who was Gaston Gaudio’s trainer when he won at Roland Garros five years ago.
http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis … eturn.aspx
Del Potro w DEUCE:
http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/DEUCE- … Potro.aspx
US Open Champion Del Potro Makes Emotional Return To Tandil
An emotional Juan Martin del Potro made his long-awaited return to his hometown of Tandil, where he was welcomed with fanfare by thousands of his countrymen Thursday afternoon.
"I owe this to Tandil," the newly crowned US Open champion said upon addressing the crowd at Independence Square. "Hopefully we can enjoy all this. This city would not change any of the world and my heart is always here."
With an Argentine flag draped across his back, the 20 year old climbed on top of a fire truck and began his procession through the Tandil streets, passing through the city center, by the Club Independente where he once trained, and ending at City Hall, where he was named a Distinguished Citizen by mayor Miguel Lunghi.
As del Potro acknowledged his followers – many waving flags adorned with his image – and accepted gifts along the parade route, he was overcome with emotion and wept for long moments.
After receiving the keys to the city, del Potro showed his appreciation for the organisers of the event and the crowd. "This reception has the same value or more of winning a tennis tournament," he said. "I have no words, just thanks to everybody."
He also credited the people in Tandil for carrying him through the final in New York. "Thanks to you and the support I received, when I entered the court and to the last ball I was thinking that you helped me and you would be happy just like me... Hopefully this is the start of something big for me. Any sporting achievement I am going to devote to my city."
His homecoming tour had begun Wednesday, with fans and media greeting him on his arrival at the Ezeiza international airport, and continued with a news conference in Buenos Aires, where he received a plaque from the Argentine Tennis Association for his Grand Slam triumph.
Del Potro, who had expressed his desire Wednesday "to see my family, my friends and start to enjoy this", began his 350 kilometer trip from Buenos Aires to Tandil on Thursday at noon.
Earlier in the morning, del Potro had received a congratulatory phone call from the President of Argentina, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who said he had "brought a lot of happiness to the Argentines”.
His stunning victory over Roger Federer has been a boon to tourism in the small town of Tandil, which has been filled to capacity since Tuesday with visitors from neighbouring towns in addition to international journalists.
"This triumph of a Tandil son caused an impressive thing. The hotel occupancy is full and is very positive for retailers," said the owner of the Tourism Office of Tandil, Ernesto Palacios, who added that people, "now not only know us by the famous salami".
Del Potro: Chcę być numerem jeden
Triumfator tegorocznego US Open - Juan Martin Del Potro - oznajmił, że kolejnym celem w jego sportowej karierze będzie osiągnięcie pierwszego miejsca w światowym rankingu ATP, a także zwycięstwo w tegorocznym turnieju Masters.
- Triumf w US Open, moim ulubionym turnieju, od zawsze był moim wielkim marzeniem - powiedział tuż po przylocie do Argentyny Del Potro, który w przyszłą środę obchodzić będzie 21. urodziny. - Teraz, gdy cel ten zrealizowałem, muszę postawić przed sobą kolejne wyzwania.
Tenisista urodzony w Tandil (350 km na południe od Buenos Aires) przyznał, że zamierza teraz postarać się o zwycięstwo w turnieju Masters. - Bardzo się cieszę, że już udało mi się wywalczyć kwalifikację do imprezy kończącej obecny sezon. Dzięki temu będę mógł spokojnie przygotować się do samego startu, nie myśląc o zdobywaniu punktów za wszelką cenę - powiedział Del Potro.
- Wygrana w US Open jest zaledwie początkiem drogi do pierwszego miejsca w rankingu ATP. Roger Federer wciąż wydaje się być poza zasięgiem wszystkich. Wspaniałą dyspozycję w tym roku prezentuje również Murray. Mam jednak zamiar wyprzedzić obu wspaniałych tenisistów - zakończył.
smiałe cele, pytanie tylko w jakim stopniu będzie je w stanie DelPo zrealizować, zobaczymy po pierwsze, jak na jego ogólną dyspozycję w sezonie wpłynie dochodzenie do dalekich faz Szlemów. Mastersów. JMDP jak na swój wiek gra bardzo mało, występuje właściwie tylko w prestiżowych turniejach niemal jak Fed i Rafa.
Z żelaznej kondycji to póki co nie słynie, a to rzecz niezbędna by myśleć o regularnych,dobrych występach w WS.
Wiele zależy od samego Federera, jeśli Szwajcar będzie jeszcze zmotywowany by wygrywać mecze oraz całe turnieje, to jeszcze jakiś czas będzie w stanie obronić pozycję nr 1.
Fed-Expresso napisał:
smiałe cele
Jedyne słuszne moim zdaniem. :) Juan dokonał rzeczy wielkiej, jako drugi (po Nole) człowiek wygrał szlema w erze dominacji Rafy i Rogera. Cel opanowania rankingu to jest logiczna konsekwencja nowojorskiego sukcesu. W tym roku zapewne Argentyńczyk awansuje na 4 miejsce, a kolejny progres wydaje się być bardzo prawdopodobny, jak tak dalej będzie się rozwijał tenisowo i mentalnie. Podoba mi się to w jaki sposób jest prowadzony. Przykład to ostatnie turnieje - w Waszyngtonie i Kanadzie pokazał dużą formę, następnie wycofał się z Cincy i być może właśnie ta decyzja przyniosła mu wymarzony puchar na kortach FM.
Del Potro comes of age
Roger Federer had contested 20 Grand Slam finals prior to his 3-6, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2 loss to Juan Martin del Potro in the 2009 US Open final, but he had only taken defeats to one man, Rafael Nadal, during the five occasions he was unable to hoist the big trophy.
But the world No. 1 had never been asked to do what the 20-year-old Argentine required of him, which was to match his nuclear power over a four-hour period and find a way to hit through and around a younger man who was overmatching him off the ground, was serving bigger and returning with more confidence and force.
Federer had chopped down plenty of pure power players before and had beaten del Potro six straight times coming into the match, but the tall free-swinger from Tandil was less mature then, was lacking in fitness and didn't really believe that when crunch time came he would have more answers.
But outside of a nervous first set, he largely out-played one of the greatest players in US Open history, a man who had won five successive Opens and who had played so well from 2004-2008 that he was never forced to contest a five-setter in a final.
“Five was great, four was great, too,” said Federer, who won Roland Garros and Wimbledon this year but fell in Australia and New York. “Six would have been a dream, too. Can't have them all. I've had an amazing summer and a great run. I'm not too disappointed just because I thought I played another wonderful tournament. Had chances today to win but couldn't take them. It was unfortunate. I thought he hung in there and gave himself chances and, in the end, was the better man.”
Del Potro kept hitting out with his forehand, even though Federer's is oh-so-dangerous, but made the right decision, as he ended the contest with 37 forehand winners to just 20 from Federer. The Argentine had little trouble hammering into Federer's weaker backhand side with searing cross-court backhands, finally got enough rhythm with his two-handed backhand to be able to pass the on-rushing Swiss, and moved at times, like, well, Nadal.
During the sixth game of the fourth set, after chasing down a Federer blast near the wall and curling it for a forehand winner around the net post, he scooted around, high-fiving the crowd.
A quiet and modest guy, del Potro didn't back away from the occasion and reveled in it, waving to his large contingent of Argentine fans to get himself pumped up and looking up in sheer joy as they serenaded him with cries of “Ole, Ole, Delpo.”
He faced down Federer in the second-set tiebreaker by blasting an inside-out forehand winner to take the set. He survived a major hiccup in the third set, when he double faulted twice to lose the set.
“When I lost the third set, going to break up, I start to think bad things,” del Potro said. “It was so difficult to keep trying to keep fighting. But one more time, the crowd and the fans helped me a lot to fight until last point. I think I have to say thank you to everyone for that."
Down 4-5 at 30-30 and just two points from defeat in the fourth set, del Potro nailed an ace and forehand down-the-line winner. He then took the tiebreaker when Federer committed two uncharacteristic forehand errors, and in the fifth set, the 6-foot-6 del Potro stepped on the gas quickly.
He broke Federer early with a wicked forehand cross-court passing shot to 2-0, and at his third match point at 5-2, hit another heavy forehand that a defensive Federer couldn't handle.
He dropped onto his back, looking like a towering snow angel in search of the first fall signs of winter flurries and later gave a tearful thanks to his family and friends back in Tandil.
“My dream done. It's over,” said del Potro, who became the first Argentine male to win the title since Guillermo Vilas in 1977. “I will go home with a trophy, and it's my best sensation ever in my life.
"I didn't have the experiences in these types of matches. Last night was terrible. I couldn't sleep. I was playing the best player ever in such a big stadium and in a Grand Slam final, and it weighed heavily on me. But I knew I had to keep fighting because it was Grand Slam final, and the crowd was supporting me so much that they deserved it. They lifted me, and finally I was able to turn it around mentally. It was an amazing match, amazing people. Everything is perfect.”
Del Potro is only the fourth player since Federer won his first major at 2003 Wimbledon to break the Nadal-Federer stranglehold at the majors. One of the other men, 2005 Australian Open champion Marat Safin, will retire at the end of this year. That leaves 2003 U.S. champion Roddick, 2008 Australian titlist Novak Djokovic and del Potro to contend with the Swiss and the Spaniard, who have won 21 majors in that period.
Del Potro is the first guy to beat Nadal and Federer back-to-back at a major -- no small feat. Like Safin did to Pete Sampras back at the 2000 US Open, the young guy with a blinding haymaker knocked out a stunned older legend. He has the on-court tools and, apparently, the willpower.
That should clearly make him a significant part of the conversation in years to come in his beloved New York.
“Of course, I will be in the history of this tournament,” del Potro said. "That's amazing for me. I have new opportunities in the other Grand Slams to win because if I did here, if I beat Nadal, Federer and many good players, maybe I can do one more time.”
Del Potro matures into major player
By David Ornstein
Juan Martin del Potro has long been touted as a potential Grand Slam champion and many believe he possesses all the weapons to become a future world number one.
The first of those predictions has just come to fruition, making the second appear more likely than ever before.
Up against top-seed Roger Federer, who was targeting a 16th Grand Slam title and sixth successive US Open, the task facing Del Potro in his maiden major final was plain for all to see.
But four hours and six minutes later, the great Swiss had been humbled 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 and it seemed like we might just be staring at the future of men's tennis.
"I have many things to improve to be better," said world number five Del Potro, in a potentially ominous warning to his rivals.
"I would like to be top four, top three or top one in the future. But I have to play like today many, many weeks in the year.
JONATHAN OVEREND BLOG
This young man, 6ft 6ins tall with the fiercest forehand around, will be world number one - absolutely no doubt - almost certainly the next one, possibly sometime soon if this form continues
"I don't have the shape to do that but maybe if I'm still working and still going in the same way, maybe in the future I can."
With the men's game currently enjoying a purple patch in terms of both quality and competition, the 6ft 6in Argentine cannot afford to stand still.
But history suggests players who win Grand Slam titles in their early 20s, and before fully developing or reaching their peak, tend to materialise into serial champions.
Del Potro is soon to turn 21 and has a game for all surfaces, with a booming serve, laser-guided groundstrokes, a vastly-improved volley and majestic movement.
Provided he keeps injury free, controls his emotions and contains his occasionally-volatile temperament, the top four of Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic had better watch their backs.
"Rafa and I have had some epic ones over the years," said Federer. "Who knows, maybe Del Potro is going to join this as well."
Del Potro hails from Tandil - a modest rural city of 100,000 inhabitants, located 250km south of Buenos Aires - where he began playing tennis at the age of six.
Del Potro hails 'unbelievable' win
He learned his trade at Club Independiente under the stewardship of coach Marcelo Gomez, who also trained Tandil natives Mariano Zabaleta, Diego Junqueira, Maximo Gonzalez and Juan Monaco.
"Juan Martin has just made history in Argentine tennis," said an emotional Gomez, who watched the final on a big screen at Club Independiente.
"At the age of 20, he beats number one ranked Federer to win the US Open. I don't think he understands the magnitude of what he's just accomplished.
"We have a work method in Tandil. People here celebrated in the streets as if we had just won the soccer World Cup."
From an early age and throughout his rise up the junior and senior rankings, it was evident that Del Potro had the ability to go far - especially on hard courts, which have played host to five of his seven ATP Tour titles.
He claimed the prestigious Orange Bowl at the age of 14 and really came to prominence in 2008 by winning 23 matches and four tournaments in a row after Wimbledon.
Juan Martin del Potro
Del Potro struggled to digest the magnitude of his triumph
Del Potro was reduced to tears after that sequence was ended by Murray in the US Open quarter-finals and was also involved in a heated exchange with the British number one at the Italian Open earlier that year.
The South American, known as the Giant of the Pampas, seemed to have matured in time for the 2009 season and served further notice of his capabilities by beating Nadal in Miami, taking Federer to five sets in the French Open semi-finals and thrashing Nadal in the last four at Flushing Meadows.
But, as Murray knows only too well, winning that first Grand Slam title is easier said than done. The last 24 Grand Slam tournaments have been shared by just five different players.
"He has the personality, ambition and potential to get to the top of the world rankings," said Nadal's uncle and coach Toni. "He had an amazing year in 2008, so we knew he would turn into a dangerous rival."
As a boy, Del Potro actually preferred football to tennis - "when I was young I played soccer better than tennis, I don't know what I am doing here," said the Boca Juniors fan after beating Federer - but there is no doubting where his focus now lies.
His superb run in 2008 made him the first player in ATP history to win his first four titles in as many tournaments and the 12th teenager to win at least four titles in a season.
Ten of the previous 11 went on to reach number one in the world, and it looks like Del Potro could follow suit.
Juan Martín del Potro can extend golden age of tennis
Just when we thought that men’s tennis could not get any better, Juan Martín del Potro explodes into life in New York with a performance that must rank among the most impressive in the recent history of grand-slam competitions.
The final may not have had the emotional intensity of Rafael Nadal’s victory over Roger Federer in Melbourne in January or the longevity of Federer’s epic defeat of Andy Roddick at Wimbledon, but it was nevertheless a match for the ages.
Make no mistake, Federer was near the peak of his considerable powers at the Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday night. Other than his first serve, which was not firing quite as he would have liked, his strokes were immaculate, his movements characteristically lithe and graceful and his competitiveness visceral. Over the course of the first set and a half, Federer seemed to be on course for an extraordinary sixteenth grand-slam event title.
But the manner of Del Potro’s fightback tells us much about the young Argentinian’s potential to become a multiple grand-slam tournament winner.
We have long known about the power he packs in those low-trajectory groundstrokes, but what we witnessed in the US Open final was a capacity to hit the lines with relentless accuracy, combined with a canny willingness to tease the arc of Federer’s backhand. This was not merely a masterclass in ferocity, but, at times, in finesse.
And in resilience. When Del Potro double-faulted twice in a row to hand Federer the third set, it seemed like the end of the road for the 20-year-old. Many have reached the final of a grand-slam tournament only to find themselves overwhelmed by the unique demands of playing the climactic match and, over the course of those two points, Del Potro seemed to dwindle from thrusting pretender to overawed novice. The demons were out in force, playing with his mind, testing his nerves, posing questions that seemed, momentarily, unanswerable.
But answer them he did, breaking serve in the fifth game of the fourth set and winning his second tie-break of the match. By the closing stages of the final set, Federer seemed thoroughly unsure how to adjust his strategy to counter the awesome power of an opponent whose stature was growing before our eyes.
The Swiss battled valiantly, as he always does, but by the final point he seemed outgunned and, against all expectation, out of ideas.
The great joy of men’s tennis in recent years has been in witnessing the wondrous contrast in styles and temperaments of its two leading practitioners. Federer and Nadal have given us a series of unforgettable duels — the poet going head-to-head with the warrior in what sometimes seemed less like a sporting rivalry than a philosophical dispute about how sport should be played. The joy was to be found not just in the aesthetics of their contests, but in a deeper, almost ideological, dialogue.
But while thrilling, this rivalry has long been accompanied by a fear that the men’s game will be thoroughly impoverished by the retirement (through injury or age) of either man; that what has become a golden age will end the moment the curtain falls on their long struggle for supremacy.
However, the improbable emergence of Del Potro alongside Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray ought to go some way to placating that fear. This is a golden age that may endure for a good while yet.
Del Potro’s most formidable asset is that he has the game to test Nadal, the player most likely to vie with him — assuming a full recovery from injury by the Spaniard — over the coming months and years.
Nadal’s most potent weapon is to be found in the vertiginous bounce of his groundshots, particularly his forehand on the diagonal, which force right-handed opponents to execute their backhands from around the vicinity of their necks.
But Nadal’s use of this tactic looked ever more forlorn as his semi-final with Del Potro wore on at the weekend. The Spaniard used devilish quantities of top spin, his follow-through sometimes culminating more than a foot behind his head, but on each occasion he merely succeeded in teeing up the ball for his 6ft 6in opponent.
Del Potro’s height is such that steep bounce causes him few difficulties, the Argentinian simply leaning into the ball with his double-hander. The 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 scoreline was Nadal’s most one-sided defeat in a grand-slam event.
Would an injury-free, crusading Nadal have been outclassed by Del Potro at Flushing Meadows? Has Federer the appetite to face down a new challenge from yet another young pretender? Will Del Potro’s hunger remain intact, having won his first grand-slam tournament title, and does he have a B-game to go with his brilliant A-game? These are some of the urgent and tantalising questions that have emerged as the tennis world has swung — once again — on its axis.
From a more partisan perspective, here is another: where does Murray fit in to the new order? The Scot was deeply disappointing in his fourth-round, straight-sets defeat by Marin Cilic and will be painfully aware that comparisons to Colin Montgomerie — who has failed to win a major championship in golf — have already started to be made.
This is more than a little unfair, given Murray’s relative youth, but with every passing failure in a grand-slam tournament, the monkey will grow ever larger on his back.
One thing is certain: the emergence of Del Potro as the most exciting young player in tennis has made Murray’s task that much harder.
http://www.delpotrotenis.com/
Strona internetowa Del Potro. Wydaje się być bardzo kompletna i dopracowana. Szkoda tylko, że wszystko jest po hiszpańsku, a opcji włączenia strony angielskiej, nie zauważyłem.
Del Potro zrobił prawdziwą furorę w Argentynie :D Nie wiem czy można tu ale wkleje kilka zdjęć z powitania, jak ktoś czasem nie widział:
Powitany prawie jak piłkarscy Mistrzowie Globu :D
Jeszcze jeden artykuł:
For del Potro, the Landscape Has Changed
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/16/sport … .html?_r=1
Bacznie obserwuję rozwój kariery DelPo i widze z każdym miesiącem duże postępy na tego chłopaka zwróciłem uwagę latem ub.roku gdy miał ta serię zwycięskich turniejów, ale co zrobił w tym sezonie, przechodzi wszelkie pojęcie!!! QF w AO SF w RG i wygrana w USO, ciekawe na co jeszcze stać JMDP. Chyba za dużo poświętował po USO bo dzisiaj poległ w 1R w Tokio z Rogerem-Vasselinem
Juan Martin del Potro: one giant leap
The Argentinian reached the summit with his win at the US Open and can do so again at the Barclays ATP World Tour finals.
Barry Flatman
The reigning US Open champion seems to have it all. When Juan Martin del Potro took the title at Flushing Meadows last month, aged 20, he became the first player to beat Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer back to back in a Grand Slam. There is every reason for the 6ft 6in Argentinian, the tallest winner of a major, to look down on all he surveys.
Yet ask his coach, Franco Davin, to describe his biggest challenge and the future appears more difficult for the world No 5. “The toughest job I have?” answers Davin, who guided the unseeded Gaston Gaudio to the 2004 French Open title but now sees the potential of Del Potro as gargantuan in comparison. “It is not to work on his shots, it is not to make him fitter. The thing I have to do every day, with almost every conversation, is to repeatedly make him believe that he has now earned the right to believe he is one of the very top players. It’s a battle to get Juan Martin to believe in himself. He feels hesitant, that’s his natural personality, and it’s important to change him.”
Perhaps Del Potro will feel at home when he arrives in London for the Barclays ATP World Tour finals, which start at the 02 Arena on November 22. He is at least guaranteed his longest stay in the city; in three visits to Wimbledon, he has never made round three. For the finale to the men’s tour, contested by the world’s eight best players and staged on a more convivial indoor hard court surface, he is guaranteed a minimum of three matches by the initial round-robin format.
The tournament venue will allow him to extend his knowledge of architecture, a subject he intends to pursue at college when his playing days are over. “I used to draw a lot and I think I was quite good but I don’t seem to have time now,” he says in Spanish. “The architecture of certain cities is very interesting. New York means something special but I also like to look at the design of great buildings in Paris and Rome.
“I don’t know that much about London’s architecture but I saw a picture of the 02 Arena the other day and it looks very different. We’ve been told it’s the best possible venue for indoor tennis.”
Like so many extremely tall men, Del Potro walks with something of a natural stoop. There seems to be a degree of insecurity and that becomes all the more apparent with each attempt to gauge his mood. He is certainly not extrovert by nature. Quiet and reserved, the struggle to make his feelings known in English must wait for another day.
“Yes, I am a shy person,” he acknowledges. “That’s the way I was brought up, that’s what I have always been. My family is the same, we are all quite withdrawn and like to live a tranquil life at home. Nobody wants to make a fuss and I try to learn from them. I have no intention of changing off the court because nobody can change their personality. But on the court now I am a different person. Once I step over the line, I feel I’m now a much more aggressive player and that feeling is getting greater all the time.
“However, it is true that I still don’t think of myself as one of the very top players. To me there is Roger, there is Rafa. Then there are other top guys like Murray and Djokovic who are the ones people are expecting to win a big title if the top two don’t.
“Me? I’m still in the pack behind the top guys. Sure I won the US Open, which has always been my greatest ambition, but I’ve come to the conclusion that it was a big surprise for me to give the performance I did in those matches against Rafa and Roger. I honestly didn’t think I was prepared sufficiently to do what I did.”
Such comments make Davin blanche. Admittedly, the US Open final was Del Potro’s first win over Federer after a run of six successive defeats, five of them without even taking a set.
But before New York, this year the Argentinian had won his two encounters with Nadal on cement in Miami and Montreal. On clay in Madrid, Del Potro broke Murray’s monopoly in their rivalry, which dated back to junior days.
“It’s a process [building confidence], a long process that requires patience,” says the coach. “But if he won the US Open with a lack of confidence, it only goes to show he can go a lot further. After working with him for nearly two years I know the way he thinks. Although he is reluctant to say he belongs at the top, there is another side that says he is determined to get there.
“Reaching the final against Roger and then to lose in five sets would have been a good performance. What he did showed there was much more. The mentality of South American players grows at a slower pace than Europeans. Federer was the same age group as Guillermo Coria and David Nalbandian but he matured much quicker. Then there was Murray, Djokovic, even Rafa. They are a year or so older than Juan Martin but established themselves much earlier. He turned 21 a few days after New York. He still has so much time.”
Del Potro’s desire not to cause a fuss was put to the test after his US Open win. He returned to a hero’s welcome in his home town of Tandil and more than half its population of 140,000 thronged the streets to welcome him as he was driven around on a fire engine. Then he was further lauded at the Bombonera football stadium of his beloved Boca Juniors. “Thankfully they did not put another microphone in my hand. But they made a special club shirt with ‘US Open champion 2009’ written on it and I kicked a few balls. That was okay.”
Like so many of his compatriots, Del Potro is engrossed in football. Last week he agonised as the national team flirted with disaster before qualifying for next year’s World Cup. The anguish was compounded when tendinitis in his wrist forced him to retire from the Shanghai Masters in a second-round match against Jurgen Melzer.
“Right now I am feeling very tired and beat-up after the experiences I have been through but it would have been so much worse if the team hadn’t won,” he says. “That would have been terrible. Argentina’s two World Cup wins were before I was even born but we have a proud tradition and believe we belong. Now I am happy for the team. Martin Palermo, who scored the [winning] goal against Peru, plays for Boca Juniors and is a friend. I also know Carlos Tevez and hope I get the chance to see him when I go to London.”
Davin can recall the national emotion triggered by the World Cup wins of 1978 and 1986 but insists he is not exaggerating by saying the reaction to Del Potro’s US Open title was not far behind. “I believe the people turned their attention from football to tennis because of what Juan Martin did,” says the former Argentina Davis Cup captain. “People back in Buenos Aires told me the Monday Juan Martin beat Federer was like the day of a World Cup final. The nation stopped.
“It has never been like that for tennis. But [it was] for Juan Martin. And he tells me he feels comfortable with this. So although he will not say he belongs right at the top, deep inside I think he now actually feels it.”
No i jeszcze mały Juan:
:D
Del Potro commits to Queen's Club tournament
LONDON (AP)—U.S. Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro will play at next year’s Queen’s Club tournament in an effort to improve his grasscourt game ahead of Wimbledon.
The fifth-ranked Argentine beat Roger Federer in the U.S. Open final but has never advanced past the second round in three appearances at Wimbledon.
Del Potro says “this is the perfect opportunity for me to improve my game on the surface. Many players have done well at Queen’s in the past and then gone on to win at Wimbledon. I hope that this can happen for me also.”
John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Boris Becker, Pete Sampras, Lleyton Hewitt and Rafael Nadal have all won the Wimbledon men’s singles title after victory at Queen’s.
The Wimbledon warmup event is scheduled for June 7-13.
Juan w magazynie DEUCE:
Del Potro's Perfect Moment
http://www.tenis.sport24.pl/news/show/1 … del-potro/
Magiczny czas Juana Martina Del Potro
Mający 198 cm wzrostu, Juan Martin del Potro nazywany "Wieżą Tandilu" jest najwyższym w historii tenisistą, który wygrał turniej Wielkoszlemowy. Kim tak na prawdę jest człowiek, który oczarował wszystkich podczas US Open?
Parada na cześć argentyńskiego mistrza zaczyna się na skrzyżowaniu Road 226 i Newton Avenue, jednej z głównych ulic Tandilu. Juan Martin del Potro przez krótkie, ale bardzo cenne chwile wita się z rodziną, a następnie wspina się na jaskrawy czerwony samochód strażacki, by rozpocząć przejażdżkę wśród mieszkańców jego rodzinnego miasta.
Tłum wpatruje się z zachwyceniem na nowego mistrza US Open. Del Potro właśnie powrócił z długiej podróży, gdzie na nowojorskich kortach pokonał Rafaela Nadala i Rogera Federer, zdobywając swój pierwszy wielkoszlemowy tytuł.
Wielki powiew emocji i czas jakby się zatrzymał.
Emocje Del Potro zmieniają się dramatycznie. Siedzi nieruchomo, a z oczu napływają mu łzy, bezgranicznego szczęścia. Obejmuje twarz obiema rękami. Mieszkańcy jego Tandilu, dopingują go krzycząc jego nazwisko, skandując "Delpo".
„Słyszałem tylko: " Delpo, Delpo" i to wszystko, nic poza tym. Te samochody, motocykle, to było szalone”, mówi del Potro, który teraz siedzi wygodnie na skórzanej kanapie w jednym z liczonych pomieszczeń budynku rady miasta. „A potem, jak gdyby rzeczywistość powróciła, a ja wciąż nie mogłem płakać”
„Moi przyjaciele powiedzieli mi, że prawie jedna trzecie ludności Tandilu tam była, nigdy nie zapomnę tego momentu, to najwspanialsze chwile w moim całym życiu.”, Tandil liczy około 130.000 mieszkańców, natomiast szacuje się, że 40.000 zebrało się na ulicach miasta, aby powitać ich bohatera.
Następnie 20-letni mistrz, dał serdeczne przemówienie z balkonu, przyznając, że czuje się, jak "prezydent". Po przemówieniu do tłumu, otrzymał klucze Tandilu od gubernatora.
Następny przystanek ceremonii powitalnej Juana Martina to klub Independiente, w którym nowo koronowany mistrz US Open zaczął grać w tenisa.
Wśród kibiców stoi kobieta, Viviana, która trzyma rakietę, na której położone jest parę jajek. "Nie rozumiesz tego żartu? Oznacza to, że jest to tenisista z jajami!” mówi, śmiejąc się głośno.
Dzieci wspinają się na drzewa, aby uzyskać lepszy widok "Delpo".
"Mój ojciec przyjechał odebrać mnie w szkole przed zakończeniem lekcji" wyjaśnia 11-letni Alejandro. "Nie chce przegapić tej szansy, by zdobyć jego autograf. Połowa klasy była pusta, kiedy wyszedłem.
Fani mają silne poczucie związku z del Potro, a nawet konkurują ze sobą.
"Znam jego siostrę od dziecka."
„Kupowałem steki w sklepie mięsnym jego dziadka „
"Powiedziałem Juanowi Martinowi, żeby nie grał w piłkę, ale w tenisa ..."
Lista się nie kończy. Każdy myśli, że wie o del Potro więcej niż inni.
Del Potro grał w tenisa oraz piłkę nożną. Ale w wieku 12 lat, musiał dokonać wyboru i z zimną krwią - wybrał tenisa. „Teraz jestem najgorszym piłkarzem jakiego kiedykolwiek widzieliście. Straciłem wszystkie moje zdolności w tym sporcie," przyznaje z uśmiechem del Potro
Drugi na liście popularności tej wielkoszlemowej, popołudniowej euforii w Tandil jest Marcelo Gomez. On nie tylko trenował del Potro od dzieciństwa i przekonał go, aby ten wybrał tenis i rzucił piłkę nożneą, lecz także Gomez współpracował z Mariano Zabaleta, Juanem Monaco, Maximo Gonzalezaem i Diego Junqueira.
Co takiego jest w tym mieście, w Tandil, znajdującym się na południowy zachód od Buenos Aires, który był wcześniej znany tylko z gór i wędlin?
Marcelo Gomez, trener w Independiente, odpowiada: "Każdy mnie pyta, czy istnieje jakaś tajemnica Tandilu. Trzeba ciężko pracować każdego dnia, to nasze przesłanie. Dzieciom rozpocząć proces starej metody gry na ściance. Zachęcamy dzieci również do czystej i eleganckiej gry. Każemy im zachowywać się poprawnie. Czy widziałeś, żeby del Potro czy Monako rzucili swoje rakiety o kort w gniewie? Ja nie widziałem.”
"Po zwycięstwo Juana Martina, mamy setki e-maili z prośbą o zapisanie się do naszego tenisowego klubu. Ludzie z Brazylii, Urugwaju, Chile, Ekwador piszą do nas.", wyjaśnia Gomez. "Jest prawie sto dzieci na liście oczekujących. Musieliśmy zatrudnić nowych instruktorów i planujemy budowę kilku nowych kortów".
Gomez, trenował del Potro aż do roku 2007, kiedy wschodząca gwiazda tenisa rozpoczęła współpracę z Franco Davin, który zresztą jest wychowankiem klubu Independiente.
Davin obecnie doprowadził dwóch zawodników do tytułów wielkoszlemowych. Był trenerem Gastona Gaudio, gdy ten zdobył tytuł Roland Garros 2004 i obecnie trenuje del Potro, który triumfował w tym roku na Flushing Meadows.
Del Potro już wyznacza sobie cele na przyszły sezon i trzeźwo patrzy na swoje umiejętności.
"Chcę zdobyć wiedzę i rozwijać moją grę. Mam zamiar poprawić wolej, serwis, myślę, że idę w dobrym kierunki", mówi del Potro. " Mam dobry serwis, ale jeżeli nie podszlifuję swojego volleya, jeżeli nie nauczę się kończyć punkty przy siatce, nie będę zbyt często pokonywał najlepszych."
Del Potro obecnie zaserwował 510 asów, a są to statystki przed rozpoczęciem Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.
Poczucie na korcie i stabilna forma jest nie zbędna do bycia liderem rankingu ATP. "Juan Martin na pewno postara się być numerem jeden w niedalekiej przeszłości. On pokonał już wszystkich najlepszych chłopaków, z wyjątkiem Novaka Djokovica. Do tego ma zaledwie 21 lat", mówi Davin. "Jednak wszyscy wiemy, że to bardzo trudne zadanie. Możesz przyjrzeć się historii Nadala: od zdobycia wielkiego szlema zaczął być jednym z najlepszych tenisistów świata".
Del Potro sądzi, że aby dorównać Rafaelowi Nadalowi czy Rogerowi Federerowi czeka go długa i żmudna praca. "Aby być jak oni, będę musiał wygrać US Open co najmniej dziesięć razy w roku", żartuje. "Oni (Federer i Nadal przyp. red) nie mają tylko czterech czy pięciu dobrych tygodni, oni grają niesamowicie przez cały rok. Ja natomiast jestem nie stabilny, odpadłem w pierwszej rundzie turnieju w Tokio ".
Juan Martin Del Potro to skromny tenisista z Tandil. Nie czuje się gwiazdą. ”Nie byłem gotowy na to, co przyszło po US Open, " przyznaje del Potro. "Ledwo mogłem zobaczyć moją rodzinę, dałem niezliczoną ilość wywiadów, byłem nawiedzany przez paparazzi, jakbym był gwiazdą telewizji. To nowe doświadczenie, muszę się chyba przyzwyczaić. „
Davin lubi del Potro za to, że potrafi skupić się na pracy, ale ostrzega, że jest on tak skromny, że gasi pragnienie sukcesu. "Człowiek musi wierzyć w siebie! Bił Federera, Nadala i Murray’a po raz pierwszy w swojej karierze, a nie nieliczących się tenisistów!".
Zgodnie z oczekiwaniami, zachęcające słowa pochodzą także od rodaków del Potro. "To co on osiągnął jest przykładem dla młodszych dzieci," mówi David Nalbandian. "Jednak nie musi się śpieszyć i nie naciskajmy na niego. On musi mieć czas, ustatkować się, a następnie bić wyżej rozstawionych chłopaków."
Juan Monaco, długoletni przyjaciel, myśli, że del Potro ma przewagę nad Murray’em czy Djokovicem. „On ma lepszy, bardziej wydajny styl gry. Czas pokaże, ale to zdecydowanie przykład na przyszły numer jeden rankingu."
Legenda tenisa, Guillermo Vilas dodaje: "Osiągając wielkoszlemowy turniej w tym wieku, świadczy o tym, z jakim człowiekiem mamy do czynienia. On ma więcej w sobie ognia niż Murray, ale musi grać idealnie, może go pokonać".
Juan Martin wyciągnął ciekawą teorię, na temat swojego przodownictwa w rankingu ATP, pół żartem mówi: "Jestem jeszcze młody. Będę grał dalej na tym poziomie , a potem Roger, a następnie Rafa odejdą na emeryturę, będę lepszym graczem i wtedy mogę być nr 1 ".
Już dziś swój pierwszy mecz zagra Juan Martin Del Potro w kończącym sezon turnieju w Londynie. Czy wygra, czas pokażę. Eksperci mówią, że ma on potencjał, ale ma też czas. Faktem pozostaje jednak, że Juan Martin Del Potro to człowiek skromny, z poczuciem humoru. Jest to wysoki człowiek, a jego wzrost odpowiada jego talentowi. Mistrz US Open 2009 to po prostu – Juan Martin Del Potro z magicznego Tandil.
Tevez umówił się w Londynie z Del Potro
- Ma się pojawić na moim następnym meczu - zapowiedział wizytę Carlosa Teveza w hali O2 jego rodak Juan Manuel Del Potro. Argentyńczyk wygrał w drugim grupowym meczu po tie-breaku z Fernando Verdasco 6:4, 3:6, 7:6 (7-1) i nie stracił szans na awans do półfinału World Tour Finals.
Piłkarz Manchesteru City zapowiadał się w Londynie już wcześniej. W pierwszym meczu Del Potro uległ Andy'emu Murrayowi i gdyby powinęła mu się noga również w drugim spotkaniu, przedwcześnie pożegnałby się z turniejem. Ze spotkania Argentyńczyków nic by zatem nie wyszło.
- Denerwowałem się, bo gdybym przegrał, jechałbym do domu - mówił Juan Manuel Del Potro. - Rozmawiałem z Tevezem ostatniego wieczora. Może będzie na moim następnym meczu - dodał, żartując, że mimo wszystko ciekawszy dla snajpera "The Citizens" byłby mecz z udziałem lidera światowych rankingów Rogera Federera.
Juan Martin Del Potro, którego świat poznał na dobre dopiero w tym roku, wtorkowym zwycięstwem nad Verdasco przybliżył się do półfinału. Żeby tego dokonać, będzie musiał ograć samego Federera. Ale Argentyńczyk ma receptę na Szwajcara. Ograł go w finale tegorocznego US Open, sięgając po pierwszy wielkoszlemowy tytuł. - To zwycięstwo odmieniło moje życie. Życie jest piękne! - powtórzył jeszcze raz Del Potro.
[b] Ale Argentyńczyk ma receptę na Szwajcara. Ograł go w finale tegorocznego US Open, sięgając po pierwszy wielkoszlemowy tytuł.
Hmm ciekawe, myślałem, że jak ktoś wygrał 6 na 7 meczy to ma jakieś pojęcie o ogrywaniu tego rywala.
Fed-Expresso napisał:
[b] Ale Argentyńczyk ma receptę na Szwajcara. Ograł go w finale tegorocznego US Open, sięgając po pierwszy wielkoszlemowy tytuł.
Hmm ciekawe, myślałem, że jak ktoś wygrał 6 na 7 meczy to ma jakieś pojęcie o ogrywaniu tego rywala.
To jest właśnie przykład jak nierzetelni sprawozdawcy piszą na polskich serwisach sportowych.
O rety, zamiast "znalazł", napisali "ma", już nie bądzcie tacy zasadniczy.
Konferencja prasowa Juana Martina po zwycięstwie nad Rogerem Federerem:
Read Juan Martin Del Potro's press conference after beating Roger Federer in their round robin match.
Q. When exactly did you know you had qualified? At what exact moment did you know?
JUAN MARTIN DEL Potro: Franco told me I qualified after like 25 minutes after the match, because nobody knows what happen.
But, well, I qualified (smiling).
Q. Can you sum up your performance against Roger Federer tonight.
JUAN MARTIN DEL Potro: I play good tennis today, similar than New York, a little better in some moments of the match. I serve good in important moments. I take my opportunities. That's what I have to do against the best player of the world: take the opportunities and try to play the best tennis.
Q. Can you describe your emotions at the end of the match? Must have been a strange sensation to beat Roger Federer but don't know if you qualified.
JUAN MARTIN DEL Potro: Yes, it was very strange. But I don't want to talk about that because the people who has to made the numbers to see who qualify, they knows what they did. Now is the past. I'm in the semifinals. I happy for that. But was strange.
Q. We saw Carlos Tevez?
JUAN MARTIN DEL Potro: No, we talk last night. We talk this morning. I know he's gonna come to watch the match. Maybe if I play Saturday night, he will be here.
Q. Federer said he didn't feel sorry about all the people that were supportive of Murray. What about you?
JUAN MARTIN DEL Potro: I'm sorry?
Q. Federer told us he don't feel sorry about all the people supporting Murray. How about you? Do you feel sorry he's not in the game now?
JUAN MARTIN DEL Potro: I didn't understand what you say.
Q. Do you feel sorry for Murray's supporters?
JUAN MARTIN DEL Potro: No, this is the sport. Just two players has to qualify. Maybe for the local public is bad to not have the opportunity to see Murray in the semis, but they will see Federer, for sure, and another good players.
Q. What are your thoughts on the other group matches tomorrow, possible semifinal opponents?
JUAN MARTIN DEL Potro: Well, all players are playing very good this season. They are very strong. Djokovic for me could be the most dangerous. But Robin has a good serve. Davydenko is so fast. Everyone has good things to play against me.
But I will try to play like today.
Q. You said you play as well, maybe even better than the US Open. Do you feel it's one of your best matches in your life?
JUAN MARTIN DEL Potro: No, I don't think so. Well, my best match was the final of the US Open. But I feel better again since the US Open, and that's important for the next matches.
Q. Do you like the round robin format or is it too confusing for players and spectators?
JUAN MARTIN DEL Potro: No, it's okay. Is difficult to do these number because Roger, me and Murray won two matches, and unfortunately Murray has to -- he's out. Maybe in the other group, Djokovic win two matches and maybe happen the same. So it's strange for us, but we like it.
Del Potro uratował finał sezonu
Mało brakowało, a faworyzowany Juan Martin Del Potro podzieliłby los Rogera Federera. W półfinale World Tour Finals bliski pokonania Argentyńczyka był rezerwowy Robin Soderling. O awansie do wielkiego finału sezonu decydował tie-break. Del Potro wygrał 7:6 (7-1), 3:6, 7:6 (7-3).
Soderling miał w ogóle nie odegrać w Londynie większej roli. Jeszcze kilka dni przed rozpoczęciem imprezy w O2 Arenie Szwed mógł się jedynie cieszyć z miana rezerwowego. Wszystko zmieniło się, gdy z rywalizacji wycofał się Andy Roddick.
Pogromca Rafela Nadala z tegorocznego Rolanda Garrosa wskoczył na miejsce Amerykanina i wykorzystał życiową szansę. W dwóch pierwszych meczach ograł zdecydowanych faworytów grupy. Najpierw ponownie załatwił Nadala, a potem Novaka Djokovicia. Zatrzymał się dopiero na Nikołaju Dawidience, ale i tak razem z Rosjaninem przeszli dalej.
Soderling wygrał pierwszego seta po tie-breaku, w drugim rozstawionemu z piątką Del Potro udało się odrobić straty. Po sześciu gemach trzeciej odsłony zanosiło się na klęskę Argentyńczyka. Soderling przełamał rywala i wyszedł na prowadzenie 4:2. Nie wytrąciło to jednak Del Potro z równowagi. Triumfator tegorocznego US Open spiął się na ostatnie gemy i doprowadził do drugiego w tym meczu tie-breaka.
Potem poszło mu jak z płatka, bo pierwszy punkt przegrał dopiero przy stanie 4:0. Wypracowana na początku przewaga wystarczyła do zwycięstwa. Nie doszło zatem do drugiej niespodzianki w półfinałach Word Tour Finals, bo wyżej rozstawiony Del Potro nie podzielił losu lidera światowych list Rogera Federera, który sensacyjnie przegrał z Dawidienką.
- Grałem przeciwko bardzo, bardzo mocnym rywalom. Dwa mecze wygrałem, dwa przegrałem. Pokazałem, że mogę z nimi rywalizować - podsumował Soderling, który może być zadowolony z występu w O2 Arenie.
- Było blisko... - głęboko odetchnął Del Potro, któremu udało się wyjść z nie lada opresji. Argentyńczyk był pełen uznania dla rywala. - Ma za sobą świetny sezon. Życzę mu wszystkiego dobrego w kolejnym - komplementował Szweda.
Robin Soderling po raz pierwszy w karierze finiszuje w najlepszej dziesiątce. Apetyt rośnie jednak w miarę jedzenia. - Chcę być silniejszy. Chcę być szybszy. Chcę być lepszy - zapowiedział po osiągnięciu półfinału World Tour Finals.
tenisowy.com
Sezon 2009 w liczbach
Ranking: 5
Tytuły: 3
Finały: 2
Bilans spotkań: 54-16
Zarobki: $4,433,087
AO - 1/4
RG - 1/2
WM - 2 Runda
US - Triumf
Bohaterowie sezonu: Juan Martín del Potro
Juan Martín del Potro był bezsprzecznie jednym z bohaterów sezonu 2009. Argentyńczyk po raz pierwszy wystąpił w wielkoszlemowym finale i na Flushing Meadows od razu święcił wielki triumf. Niezwykły wyczyn jak na tenisistę, który jeszcze na początku lipca ubiegłego sezonu nie miał na swoim koncie żadnego tytułu i był poza czołową 50 rankingu.
Jego droga do chwały rozpoczęła się w lipcu 2008 roku, gdy wygrał imprezę w Stuttgarcie. Potem triumfował w trzech kolejnych turniejach, a jego serię 23 kolejno wygranych spotkań przerwał dopiero w ćwierćfinale US Open Andy Murray. Del Potro w ciągu niespełna dwóch miesięcy awansował z miejsca 65. do czołowej 20, a sezon ukończył w Top10 i zwieńczył go występem w Masters.
2009 rok Argentyńczyk rozpoczął od wygrania turnieju w Auckland i ćwierćfinału Australian Open. Bardzo dobrze wypadł we wszystkich wielkoszlemowych turniejach za wyjątkiem Wimbledonu, z którego w II rundzie wyeliminował go Lleyton Hewitt. We French Open doszedł do półfinału, przegrywając po emocjonującym pięciosetowym boju z Rogerem Federerem. Kilka miesięcy później zrewanżował się Szwajcarowi za tę porażkę po równie wspaniałym spotkaniu. Do tego zdobył jeszcze tytuł w Waszyngtonie i w ciągu 1,5 roku zaliczył siedem triumfów w cyklu ATP World Tour.
Del Potro jako 21-letni tenisista został piątym najmłodszym triumfatorem US Open w erze Open. Ten magiczny dla siebie sezon zwieńczył drugim występem w Turnieju Mistrzów. Tym razem doszedł aż do finału, przegrywając z rewelacyjnie dysponowanym Nikołajem Dawidienką. Obdarzony znakomitymi warunkami fizycznymi Argentyńczyk bardzo szybko może dostać się na sam szczyt rankingu ATP. Finał US Open, w którym przez półtora seta nic mu się nie układało pokazał jego wielki atut, jakim jest odporność psychiczna.
Olbrzymia determinacja, niesłychana wola walki i nadzwyczajne opanowanie - Argentyńczyk to po prostu urodzony zwycięzca. Poczuł wielką, zewnętrzną siłę, w finale US Open nie prosił Federera o najniższy wymiar kary
. Przeczekał napór Szwajcara i w odpowiednim momencie uderzył. Zachował się jak doświadczony zawodnik, a nie jak nowicjusz. Del Potro w porównaniu
z ubiegłym sezonem, w którym wypłynął na szerokie wody, jeszcze poprawił swoją grę
. Jeżeli mając świetny serwis
, porażający forhend i bardzo solidny oburęczny bekhend poprawi grę przy siatce, to w przeciągu dwóch sezonów ma szansę zostać numerem jeden na świecie
jako pierwszy argentyński zawodnik.
Guillermo Vilas był wiceliderem światowego rankingu i zdobył cztery wielkoszlemowe tytuły. Czy w Argentynie pojawił się ktoś, kto będzie w stanie przyćmić jego dokonania? Na razie del Potro został drugim po Vilasie (1977) argentyńskim triumfatorem US Open.
http://www.sportowefakty.pl/tenis/2009/ … del-potro/
Specjalnie wytłuściłem te 2 zdania, bo się z nimi absolutnie zgadzam, Del Potro to może być przyszły nr1
Del Potro planuje skok na pozycję lidera rankingu
Juan Martín del Potro, piąta rakieta świata, chce w 2010 roku zostać liderem rankingu ATP. Argentyńczyk przybył do Santiago de Chile, gdzie bierze udział w pokazowym turnieju.
Aktualnie na liście światowej przewodzi Roger Federer, którego del Potro pokonał w finale US Open. - Wciąż znajduję się mimo wszystko na nieco niższym poziomie niż Roger - mówi 21-letni zawodnik z Tandil. - Brakuje mi perfekcji uderzenia, serwisu i trochę doświadczenia - tłumaczy.
W poniedziałek w stolicy Chile del Potro znów spotka się z reprezentantem gospodarzy Fernandem González. Pokonał go 2 grudnia w argentyńskim Rosario
Del Potro sportową osobowością Argentyny
21-letni tenisista Juan Martin del Potro został uznany sportową osobowością Argentyny w 2009 roku.
We wrześniowym finale wielkoszlemowego turnieju US Open w Nowym Jorku Del Potro pokonał w pięciu setach Szwajcara Rogera Federera. Argentyńczyk triumfował również w zawodach w Auckland i Waszyngtonie.
Wśród "srebrnych" nagrodzonych podczas wtorkowej gali w Buenos Aires znaleźli się piłkarz Barcelony Lionel Messi i golfista Angel Cabrera.
http://www.sportowefakty.pl/tenis/2009/ … argentyny/
Dla mnie ten wybór to sensacja, byłem pewien, że wygra Messi
szeva napisał:
Dla mnie ten wybór to sensacja, byłem pewien, że wygra Messi
Messi nie jest ubóstwiany w swojej ojczyźnie. Zawodzi w reprezentacji i częściej tam Go krytykują niż chwalą. Del Potro natomiast po wygraniu USO został okrzyknięty bohaterem narodowym. Spodziewany wybór ;)
Del Potro set to replace Murray as 4th in the world
Del Potro set to replace Murray as 4th in the world Juan Martin Del Potro is set for a rise to fourth in the world in early January, the result of Andy Murray not defending champion's points at the Doha event, which begins a week from Monday.
But the cautious Argentine is preparing for a steady move upwards, trying to lift the tennis which has already brought him the US Open title and a final at last month's season-ending event in London.
"I lack experience at the level of Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal," said the humble 21-year-old Argentine. "I've played only one Grand Slam final.
"I need to improve my game in order to feel ready to fight for the top,“ said the No. 5 who will soon trail only Federer, Nadal, and Novak Djokovic in the ATP table.
Del Potro is wary of the firepower of those who stand ahead of him, especially Djokovic, who exploded into form in the last months of the 2009 season.
Del Potro also adds: "Nadal was injured for four months and he will start the new season defending the Australian Open title. Djokovic finished the year very strongly.
"I never thought I'd win the US Open at the age of 20," said the South American. "But there's is a big difference between No. 1 and the rest."
Del Potro promuje już rakietę o nowej szacie graficznej :)
Dzisiaj znalazł się na swojej najwyższej jak dotąd pozycji w rank. - 4.
Argentinian Juan Martin Del Potro vying for second slam
JUAN Martin Del Potro has arrived. Yes, he's here in Melbourne for the Open tennis, but that's not what we mean. At home in Argentina, one of the world's most soccer-obsessed countries, he has been given the ultimate accolade.
Yes, he's here in Melbourne for the Open tennis, but that's not what we mean. At home in Argentina, one of the world's most soccer-obsessed countries, he has been given the ultimate accolade.
Just before Christmas he was voted the national sports personality of the year - ahead of Lionel Messi.
Almost simultaneously Messi was being voted FIFA's footballer of the year - the best player in the world's biggest and most popular sport - for his deeds with Spanish giant Barcelona.
Del Potro also edged out golfer Angel Cabrera, winner of the US Masters, for the Argentine award.
At least at face value, then, Del Potro's signature performance in a so-far brief but brilliant career - beating Roger Federer in five sets in the US Open final - has been judged against some extremely high-calibre opposition by his countrymen.
Alternatively it might be a case of frustrated football fans telling their one-time pin-up boy that they're disappointed in him.
The Albiceleste, as the national team is known, only just scraped into the World Cup finals, with Messi accused of playing better football for club than for country.
Del Potro, 21, was asked about his lofty new status in Melbourne yesterday but wasn't about to claim any bragging rights. He told the pre-tournament media conference for the Kooyong Classic, which starts today: "I think Messi is better.
"He play a lot of sport and I'm doing my sport with this, this tennis. I hope I will be like him in the future, but we play different things."
Asked if it was psychologically difficult approaching a second grand slam after winning a first, he said: "Tough - but especially here in Melbourne - the first grand slam - it will be tough for everyone. I will try to play like normal or maybe like in New York. I should be in good shape the next couple of weeks."
His confidence had improved "a little bit", he said.
"Winning a grand slam is a lot of motivation to keep working, keep improving. But these guys are playing very good tennis and all the matches are very tough," he said.
Del Potro's breakout year - he finished it ranked five but has now come into four after Scot Andy Murray forfeited 250 points after bypassing the recent Doha tournament - means he will be one of Melbourne Park's headline acts.
It is his fourth visit, having lost twice in the second round before running into Federer in the quarters last year.
He is the next big thing in more ways than one - at 1.98m and 82kg, he has all the weapons, a big serve, attacking attitude and impressive court coverage.
He is the highest-ranked South American and the youngest player in the top 10.
Del Potro out of Kooyong
Australian Open No. 4 seed Juan Martin Del Potro has pulled out of the Kooyong exhibition with a wrist injury.
Argentina’s Juan Martin Del Potro was scheduled to play a match against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France at the Australian Open tune up event in Kooyong. The Melbourne tennis club has long been on the agenda of Australian Open hopefuls looking to get one last warm up before the first major of the year.
But Del Potro could not finish his appearance this year. The Argentine told officials that he would be unable to compete against Tsonga because of a wrist injury. Information on the extent of the injury and the impact it will have on Del Potro’s chances at the Australian Open, which begins Monday, has not yet been released.
Del Potro was forced to withdraw in the second round of Shanghai Masters in October with tendinitis in his right wrist.
Del Potro says he's ready
US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro won his opening match of the Kooyong Classic today then declared himself ready to challenge the world's top players for the Australian Open.
The towering Argentinian, who defeated World No.1 Roger Federer in New York last year, said he now felt prepared to add a second consecutive major to his CV.
Del Potro defeated Croatian Ivan Ljubicic 6-3 6-3 and said his game had improved markedly since his US Open triumph.
"I feel good with my tennis, I feel confident," Del Potro said.
"Of course to beat Roger in the final gave me a lot of motivation and confidence to keep trying, keep working and when I go to the court with Roger or Rafa (Rafael Nadal), I don't feel too much different (to them).
"That's important for my career, for the future and of course if I want to fight for the No.1.
"I feel better and I'm playing better, improving myself," the world No.4 said.
"My movement is very important for this tournament of course (but) I have to learn for playing Wimbledon. I've never had good results there, so it's important if I want to improve my ranking."
The world's third-ranked player and 2008 Australian Open champion, Novak Djokovic, also opened with a win, crushing German Tommy Haas 6-2 6-3, but his motivation for the grand slam starting next week is to atone for his forced retirement last year due to heat exhaustion.
"I had a very busy year last year, playing almost 100 matches, which was as well very successful considering the amount that I played," Djokovic said.
"Heading into 2010 my priority was to rest well and to get prepared in the best possible way for the most important tournament in this period of the year, which is the Australian Open.
"I didn't finish it in a great way last year, I had to retire in my match. But this year I feel much better, feel fresh and I skipped all the tournaments at the start of the year because of the schedule that I had last year.
"I just need a couple of matches under my belt here before I go to Melbourne Park," he said.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/ … 5818952261
Wypowiedź pochodzi z konferencji po ograniu Sody w Kooyongu.
Open boss convinced Del Potro will shrug off injury
The wrist injury that forced Juan Martin Del Potro out of Kooyong prompted Australian Open officials to make a statement about the Argentine's pending participation in their event.
For Australian Open officials, the outlook remains bright for fourth seed Juan Martin Del Potro to make a start as expected when the first Grand Slam of the season kicks off on Monday.
The Argentine, who beat Roger Federer for the US Open title, withdrew - mainly as a precaution it is thought - from his semifinal at the elite eight-man tune-up event at Kooyong club.
His decision was blamed on a sore wrist.
That move sent Jo-Wilfried Tsonga into the weekend title match against Spain's Fernando Verdasco.
"Del Potro decided to take a couple of days' break," Open boss Craig Tiley told ABC radio. "He obviously wants to start 2010 well."
Juan Martin del Potro sets his sights on adding Wimbledon to US Open title
You have to cock an ear and move your chair nearer when Juan Martín del Potro talks. He does so with a gentle lilt, muffled behind his five-day growth.
He is seated in the players’ garden at Melbourne Park, the site of the Australian Open, feeling a touch cramped. By conversation’s end when his body unfurls, he rises to his full 6ft 6in and looks at home in this, the city of the Eureka Tower, the highest public vantage point in the southern hemisphere.
There is a good deal of looking up to do. For Del Potro, the sensation of being the last man to appreciate how it feels to lift one of the sport’s four treasures, the US Open crown that he bludgeoned from Roger Federer’s grasp in September, remains strong. Although the 21-year-old says that he will not grow any more in the physical sense — “now I am OK with my body” — he feels bigger inside when the subject of New York is raised.
“I had won my first grand-slam, my favourite slam and no one could say anything about my tennis or my physical side, because I beat Roger in five sets in five hours,” he says. “But then pressure comes again — sponsors, people, tournaments, everyone comes to watch you in matches and it’s a little more to deal with. But I have stayed the same person. I’m doing the same things, trying to improve my game every day.”
Related Links
Some within tennis argue that Del Potro represents all that is unsettling about its future, the towering physical specimen with pounding ground strokes and gruff on-court persona.
“I don’t care what they say,” the Argentinian says, with a beaming smile. “If I can move fast, I can show good tennis. Look at [Marin] Cilic, he has a beautiful style. [Mario] Ancic, too. Maybe it doesn’t always look good with [Ivo] Karlovic.”
Del Potro does pound the ball down, no getting away from that, but there is an eerie grace about the way he glides over the court surface: big, confident strides, the unfurling of a mighty forehand and the crunch, crunch, crunch of his strokes. There is a little problem with his right wrist, an injury that he has had before, he says, as he flexes this enormous arm in front of you, but it should not stop him creating havoc these next two weeks.
As a schoolboy, he played second-row forward in Tandil, his home town, but did not enjoy rugby much “because I don’t like the contact”. Nor do those who have to come into it with him on the court. He is the new world No 4, to boot, thanks to Andy Murray’s decision not to defend his title in Doha, which cost him enough ranking points to drop below his foe at what could be a tricky stage. If the pair meet in Melbourne, it would be in the semi-finals and Murray may need to have dispatched Rafael Nadal, the title-holder from Spain.
With his victory at Flushing Meadows, Del Potro was forced from the shadows, where he had enjoyed doing his own thing, pointed at more for his height than his achievements. The US Open success meant a refocusing.
“I am a quiet man,” he says. “When I am working, I know this is my work, so I [can] be focused for three hours, four hours, or whatever, and outside I am a person like you or the children playing soccer in the street. If I have the possibility to help them, or say something to make them happy, I will do it. This is the most lovely thing I get after the US Open — the children have a very good recognition of me. It’s important that I won a tournament because they see how you are, like a person, and for my parents, too, that’s very nice.”
Nudge him and Del Potro will say that Wimbledon is where he would love to lift a trophy. He has been working hard on his movement, his volleying, his conception of what it would take to win on grass.
“Nadal won Paris, won Queen’s and won Wimbledon in 2008, it is what his motivation is,” he says. “I have that motivation.”
For that reason he has signed to play in the AEGON Championships at Queen’s for the next three years.
That Del Potro beat Murray to the grand-slam punch may rankle, but the British No 1 will not let it distract him from what he needs to do to match the bigger man. “I’m a lot more mature,” Murray said yesterday. “Last year was the first time I played consistently well throughout the whole year, with hardly any bad losses. I didn’t realise, but I had the highest winning percentage on tour last season. In the past I have lost matches at grand-slams because I wasn’t playing my best, but maybe now because I’ve been winning more I’ll be able to come through.”
He reaffirmed the message from Perth last week. “It’s not so much taking the ball on, it’s knowing the right time to come to the net and understanding that part of the game a little bit more. Maybe I’ll serve-and-volley more. Guys probably return the best they ever have done right now and you know how good they are from the back of the court.”
None better than a giant who would be in his way if they both win five matches.
Darren Cahill tabs Juan Martin del Potro as title threat
LEADING Australian coach Darren Cahill says towering Argentine Juan Martin del Potro can break the Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal duopoly in men's tennis and win his second consecutive major at Melbourne Park.
Cahill, who coached Lleyton Hewitt and Andre Agassi, says Del Potro is "the guy".
"He made a big breakthrough at the 2009 US Open (defeating Nadal in the semis and Federer in the final)," Cahill said.
"This guy is full of talent. With improvements and his physical attributes, there's no reason he's not going to continue winning majors.
"He's still young and growing into his (198cm) body. He should be a force in all of them - maybe not Wimbledon, certainly the other three. He's the guy to watch out for."
Wywiad z Del Potro po spotkaniu 1 rundy AO '10:
An interview with:
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO
THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.
Q. You had a few heated exchanges with the umpire. What set it off?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: About the challenge. She say I take too many time to call the challenge, and I try to explain to her I just hit the ball and then see the mark and call the challenge.
But she say, You can't do that. That's it. After that, I was disappoint, but is the rules.
Q. Seemed like after that your serves got even faster. When you get angry about something, are you able to channel it into that?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Yeah, but I can't do that. I had to play same every time. I have to be focused every time. Depends the referee says, the umpire, and the crowd maybe. But I have to be focused every time.
Q. How do you feel physically?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Well, of course, I don't feel hundred percent, but I am feel better than yesterday, and I hope be better for tomorrow, for Wednesday, in my next match.
Q. Does it hurt when you play?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: A little bit. After two hours match the pain came and I feel a little bit, but I can play. Of course, if I be here, I want to win matches.
Del Potro battles past American journeyman
Fourth seed Juan Martin del Potro has overcome a stiff challenge from Michael Russell to take his place in the second round of Australian Open 2010.
It took the US Open champion three hours and four sets to finish off the 31-year-old American, who took the third set before the Argentine prevailed in four, winning 6-4 6-4 3-6 6-2.
Before a vocal crowd at Hisense Arena, del Potro had looked to be running away with the match as he broke Russell’s serve in the first and second sets and consolidated, claiming both sets 6-4.
However, the world No. 90 was determined not to let the highly-favoured Argentine get away, and produced some of his best tennis in a tense third set. Del Potro was far from his best and was increasingly frustrated at his mounting unforced error count, which totalled 61 for the match.
After a lengthy discussion with the chair umpire following an unfavourable line call at 3-2, del Potro sent down two double faults to hand the American a break, and Russell took the set 6-3 to send the match into a fourth.
Del Potro, the world No. 4, looked far from convincing in the final set, but managed to break the American early and raced to a 3-0 lead. Del Potro had a chance to take a double break in Russell’s next service game as the American served up three double faults, but he couldn’t convert.
Russell didn’t have another counter punch left, and in his next service game, the Argentine easily broke again to secure the victory.
Although Russell battled hard, del Potro’s strong serve and powerful ground strokes were eventually telling – as he served up 21 aces and hit 49 winners to the American’s 25.
The fourth seed will now meet Australian Open 2008 quarter-finalist James Blake or veteran Frenchman Arnaud Clement in the second round.
Wywiad po zwycięstwie nad JB w 2 rundzie AO.
An interview with:
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO
THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.
Q. Apart from the win, what did you like most about your game tonight?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Well, I really showed the crowd, the people was so exciting all the time. We played very good match.
I think I have many good things right for the next match.
Q. With the exception of the US Open which you won in five sets, how does this compare with the other five‑setters you played?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: I don't know. The time was similar, I think. I play different player. Blake is too fast. He play very strong with his forehand. He never miss easy points, easy forehand.
It's very difficult to keep trying, keep going. You have to be focused every point, every time, and try to take your chance. I had my chance in the last set.
Q. How were you feeling at the end of the third set? What were you thinking?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Well, just keep trying, you know. It's a long match. Here playing five sets, you can lose last two sets and you still have with chance. That's what happen tonight. I was trying every game with my serve. Then when I had the opportunity to broke his serve, sometimes I did, sometimes not.
But I think I have very good things to keep with me for the next match.
Q. You had the trainer out in the fifth set. Are you okay?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Yes. Well, we play a very hard match. Obviously we both needed the trainer many times. But I'm okay.
Q. James did say that he wasn't really happy playing two matches in two days. He would have preferred to play Monday night late. What were your thoughts?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Yeah, was tough for him play two days in a row, five‑set matches. Of course, is difficult. Maybe I had a little lucky because I play on Monday not too long the match.
But he did a very good job today. I don't know. The match goes with me. But he play very good tennis.
Q. James said the second‑serve ace you had at 2‑1 was possibly the turning point. Did you feel that as well?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Yeah, I was thinking to do my best serve, and I did. I had a chance to close the match in 6‑5 serving. He play a great game. I miss all my first serves, so I was a little nervous.
But in the end I was so focused trying to break his serve, and I did in the last game, so...
Q. What do you think about your next opponent, Florian Mayer?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Well, I play with him last year. He's a good player, of course. He beat Troicki. Maybe he's playing very good tennis. I hopefully be ready for next fight. I don't know, maybe I can play three hours better for my physical.
Q. How is your wrist?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: I'm okay. Thank you.
Q. No pain?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: A little bit. But I can play.
Konferencja po III r. AO:
Q. Did you expect such a tough match?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Yes, of course. He beat Troicki in the second round. For sure he did to play good tennis.
Today, especially in the second set, I felt very confused with my game. But after improve a little bit. And then in the end I finish the match playing a very good points.
Q. Pat Rafter said you could be the next man to dominate men's tennis in the world. What do you think of that?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: I don't know. He knows about this sport. But I don't want extra pression. I have too much pression with me. So thank you to Patrick, but I have a long way to be the next No. 1 or to be better.
Q. You played Florian Mayer last year as well. How was it different from last year?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: I think he's playing better this year. His forehand improve a lot. His serve also. Well, he was focus until the last point. Maybe the last match when he felt maybe confused with the game, he goes south for two or three games. And today doesn't happen.
I think he could have a very good season.
Q. When you come back to your hometown, how do people treat you?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Normal. I feel very comfortable in my city. I can do whatever I like. I know it is a small town and we know every person. So I walking around, I say hi to everyone.
ao.com
Konferencja po przegranym meczu 4 rundy AO10:
An interview with:
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO
THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.
Q. You've had some very tough matches leading up to today's game. Did that affect you at all? You looked a little tired.
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Yeah, but this is normal. We play hard match, five sets again. Marin is playing a great tennis.
I think he did better than me and he won.
Q. What do you think the difference was? Where did he get you?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Well, just the serve in the end. You know, after four hours, you have to focus. And he broke me very soon in the fifth. Then I had my chance in last game. I miss a forehand.
But he play very good.
Q. Did you run into one of the courtside cameras at one stage?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: No.
Q. What about your wrist and foot, those factors today?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: My whole body.
Well, I will go home and I will see the doctors there. I need little rest to recovery and be in good shape for next tournaments.
Q. He's in his second major quarterfinal in a row. Do you think he's lifting parts of his game in certain moments?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: He's playing very well. He won last week. He's beating everyone.
I think he has the opportunity to keep going. He will play a quarters here against González or Roddick. He can beat both of them. So I wish good luck.
Q. There would have been a lot of extra pressure on you, being a reigning Grand Slam champion. Do you think that weight will be lifted before your next major?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: No, I really enjoyed that pression. The crowd is unbelievable with me. They support me every match, every point. I was down in every match, and they help me to keep fighting, like today. I really like it, that pression.
ATP: Del Potro wróci na kort w Indian Wells.
Juan Martin Del Potro z powodu kontuzji nadgarstka będzie pauzował aż do zawodów w Indian Wells. Argentyńczyk wycofał się z imprezy w Marsylii, nie zagra także w Dubaju i Pucharze Davisa. Juan chce porządnie wyleczyć uraz, z którym boryka się od jesieni ubiegłego roku. Do tej pory Mistrz ostatniego US Open nie zdołał w pełni zadbać o rękę i uraz regularnie mu się odnawiał.
Wrist injury rules Del Potro out of Dubai and Davis Cup
Wrist injury rules Del Potro out of Dubai and Davis Cup Argentina is expected to be without US Open winner Juan Martin Del Potro after the No. 5 reported a re-occurrence of the wrist injury which bothered him prior to the start of the Australian Open.
Del Potro is expected to be out four weeks, ruling him out of the Barclays Championships in Dubai starting in 10 days as well as the Davis Cup first-round date in Stockholm.
The situation means that the South American visitors could be without both of their big men, with David Nalbandian still not back on court after hip surgery last spring.
Argentine media reported that Del Potro will also miss next week's Marseille ATP indoor event, which would have been his first since losing in the Melbourne fourth round to Croatian Marin Cilic.
Del Potro has been nominated along with Australian Open champions and world No. 1 players Roger Federer and Serena Williams for a Laureus World Sports Award.
Del Potro has been battling wrist tendinitis, which made its first appearance last autumn in Shanghai, where the South American had to quit his opening match. He also withdrew from a pre-Australian Open exhibition event as a precaution.
Del Potro Feels Chilean Earthquake
World No.5 Juan Martin del Potro, who is currently recovering from a right wrist injury in his home town of Buenos Aires, experienced the 8.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Chile early Saturday morning. Such was the force of the Chilean earthquake that it was felt in neighbouring Argentina.
Talking to ATPWorldTour.com, del Potro recalled:
“I was sleeping when at approximately 3:30am I started feeling dizzy and also hearing loud noises. The first thing I thought was that I had left the windows open and the wind was making the noise when it hit against the walls. I live on a high floor of an apartment building so I didn't think this was out of the ordinary.
"The noise was quite loud and it woke me up, so I decided to see what was happening. I was feeling very dizzy and soon realised it wasn't the wind making all the noise. Everything in my apartment was shaking and when I walked into my living room, the curtains and the decorations on the walls were shaking as well. This went on for 5-6 minutes.
"I am very saddened that the second natural disaster has taken place in such a short amount of time in the Americas, affecting so many people. I have traveled to Chile many times in my life and love the people and the country. My thoughts and prayers are with the people of Chile today and I pray that as many people as possible will escape this terrible disaster safely.”
Del Potro is hoping to regain fitness in time to compete at the first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament of the year, the BNP Paribas Open, which begins Thursday, 11 March, in Indian Wells, California.
In his lone appearance of 2010 to date, the 2009 US Open champion reached the fourth round of the Australian Open (l. Cilic).
Kontuzja Juana martina wyglądana bardzo przewlekłą. Argentyńczyk opuścił Indian Wells i Miami, do tego pojawiają się, nieoficjalne wprawdzie, informacje, że do tej pory Mistrz USO09 nie wznowił jeszcze treningów i być może opóźni swój powrót na korty o kolejny okres czasu.
Del Potro nie zagra w Monte Carlo i Barcelonie.
Hiszpańskie źródło:
http://www.canchallena.com/1251532-del- … montecarlo
Del Potro wznowił treningi.
http://www.diarioshow.com/notas/2010/04 … -bien.html
Del Potro wróci w maju
http://www.dannymiche.com.ar/blog/?p=3841
Juan Martin prawdopodobnie wróci na korty w pierwszym tygodniu maja, na któryś z 3 turniejów: Estoril, Belgrad, Monachium.
Duza czesc sezonu stracil Juan Martin, ale coz za glupote trzeba placic. Ponoc juz od konowki US Open gral z kontuzjowanym nadgarstkiem, zamiast w glorii chwały podleczyc kontuzje, ten gral jak szalony do konca sezonu i niestety mialo to oplakane skutki.
Teraz musi szybko wrocic do formy z przed kontuzji i nadrabiac straty w Race. Jak myslicie uda mu sie po takim falstarcie zakwalfikowac do Londynu ?
Myśle, ze może byc cieżko, ponieważ ma mase punktów do obrony w US open, a pewnie nie wygra odpadnie w 4 rundzie czy coś w tym stylu to raczej moze pomarzyć....
Powrót Del Potro najwcześniej w Madrycie.
Według najnowszych informacji Mistrz USo09 nie zagra w przyszłym tygodniu w którymś z 3 turniejów: Estoril/Belgrad/Monachum. Jego powrót na korty nastąpi najwcześniej podczas imprezy w Madrycie (10-16 maja).
Del Potro's reportedly returning to the US for another medical consult and could even miss Roland Garros. Awful.
Osz kur... :/
Podarly sie Gacie na dobre. Watpie, zeby ten czlowiek jeszcze zaistnial w swiatowych rozgrywkach na poziomie sprzed kontuzji.
o kurcze, ale nie skreślajmy chłopaka. Czekamy na powrót!
Spekulacje: Koniec sezonu dla Del Potro?!
http://www.tennis-x.com/xblog/2010-05-02/4059.php
Artykuł mówi, że ponoć Del Potro przejdzie poważną operację nadgarstka, która wyłączy Go z gry na 3-6 miesięcy, czyli oznaczać to może koniec sezonu dla Argentyńczyka (sezonu, który na dobre dla Niego się w ogóle nie zaczął).
To są tylko plotki, powtarzam. Oficjalne informacje na ten temat mają być znane opinii publicznej we wtorek.
Lepiej raz a dobrze, chociaż jak wiadomo, poważna ingerencja w organizm zawodnika często uniemożliwiała Mu powrót do formy sprzed kontuzji. Tym bardziej, jeśli rozchodzi się o nadgarstek u tenisisty.
Juan Martin del Potro przejdzie operację nadgarstka.
http://espndeportes.espn.go.com/?cc=7586
Nie ma danych dotyczących długości Jego absencji na kortach.
Del Potro pauzuje dalej, czeka go operacja nadgarstka
We wtorek 4 maja, Argentyńczyk Juan Martin Del Potro przejdzie operację nadgarstka w amerykańskiej klinice Mayo w Rochester. Numer pięć w światowym rankingu nie zagrał w żadnym turnieju od styczniowego Australian Open.- Dzisiaj przejdę operację. Próbowałem przez cały sezon uniknąć zabiegu, ale kontuzja okazała się dużo bardziej poważna. Kiedy przyleciałem do Stanów, przeprowadzono badania podczas mojej gry w tenisa, które wykazały miejsca, w których pojawia się ból. Na podstawie tego lekarze stwierdzili, że operacja jest konieczna.
Del Potro po wyjątkowym sezonie 2009, kiedy to wygrał US Open, w tym roku zagrał tylko jeden turniej. W Australian Open odpadł w IV rundzie i od tego czasu głównie wycofywał się z kolejnych rozgrywek zgłaszając nieustanny ból w nadgarstku. Kontuzja zmusi go do wycofania się z turnieju w Madrycie, a także zapewne z French Open (broniłby półfinału).
- Jak się domyślacie nie jest to dla mnie szczęśliwy moment. Ale przywykłem już do trudnych chwil i mam siłę by przez to przejść. Rekonwalescencja potrwa długo, ale wrócę do formy. Po operacji spędzę kilka dni w Rochester, a potem wrócę do Argentyny.
Juan Martin del Potro podda się dziś operacji
Nieoglądany na kortach od ponad czterech miesięcy Argentyńczyk Juan Martin del Potro, podda się dziś operacji kontuzjowanego nadgarstka prawej ręki.
Piąta rakieta świata podda się operacji w klinice w Rochester w stanie Minnesota, jednak niewiadomo na jak długo del Potro będzie musiał zrezygnować z gry w tenisa. Najprawdopodobniej nie zobaczymy Argentyńczyka na French Open oraz Wimbledonie.
Poprzedni rok obfitował w wiele sukcesów del Potro. Doszedł on do półfinału French Open oraz wygrał swój pierwszy wielkoszlemowy turniej - na kortach w Nowym Jorku. Najprawdopodobniej Juan Martin del Potro pojawi się na US Open, gdzie będzie bronił tytułu.
Argentyńczyk ostatni swój mecz zagrał w styczniu, podczas Australian Open, gdzie odpadł w czwartej rundzie przegrywając z Marinem Ciliciem.
Del Potro finally undergoes wrist surgery
Juan Martin Del Potro is set to miss months more of competition after finally undergoing surgery in the US correct a problem in his right wrist.
Argentina's reigning US open winner will be lucky if he's back on the court in New York in late summer to defend the title he won in a fifth set last September over Roger Federer.
The world No. 5, whose ranking has held steady for three months but will now start to tumble, last played in January at the Australian Open.
Del Potro underwent surgery in Rochester, Minnesota, at the Mayo clinic. "This is not a happy day in my life. but everything is now looking forward," he said in a statement.
"The recovery time is long and it depends on many factors. I'll recuperate in the US and then return to Argentina."
Speculation had been growing in the Argentine press that the 31-year-old's problem was actually more stage fright than his wrist. The player and his camp had waited in vain for the problem to heal this year before finally resorting to surgery.
Del Potro seeks help from footballer
US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro has turned to football player Martin Palermo for inspiration in his recovery from wrist surgery.
Del Potro is no closer, however, to knowing how long it will take for him to recover from Tuesday's operation on a nagging right wrist injury in the United States. He has not played since the Australian Open in January.
"I'm going to talk with Palermo because no-one knows better than him how to come back better from an injury," the 21-year-old told the Argentine media.
Palermo, the 36-year-old Boca Juniors striker likely to play for Argentina at the World Cup in South Africa starting next month, has twice come back from major surgery.
Del Potro, speaking on his return to Argentina on Thursday morning, said that first he needed simply to rest in his home town of Tandil, 350 km south of Buenos Aires.
"The recovery time will be long," he said. "The surgery has left me more relaxed because although a long time will pass, I'll be able to return to the courts.
"I don't know in what ranking position I'll return, the only thing I think about is coming back and having fun."
He thanked leading players Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray for their support and said he was in contact with Palermo.
"No-one like him will be able to explain to me what you feel having been operated on, recovering and coming back better," Del Potro said.
Palermo broke his left leg in 2001 playing for Villarreal in Spain when he stood on a wall to celebrate a goal and it collapsed under the weight of fans. Back at Boca in 2008 he tore knee ligaments.
He has since set a record of 222 goals for Boca.
Del Potro is an avid Boca fan and has sought relief from his injury woes going to the team's Bombonera (chocolate box) stadium to watch home games.
Dramat del Potro - kolosa z porcelany
Juan Martin del Potro miał dokonać tenisowej rewolucji: zdetronizować Rafaela Nadala i Rogera Federera. Zamiast tego leży w szpitalu w Minnesocie i nie może ruszyć ręką
"Kochani! Milczałem wystarczająco długo. Chciałbym, żebyście usłyszeli tę smutną wiadomość ode mnie. Muszę przejść operację prawego nadgarstka. Nie wiadomo, kiedy znów zobaczycie mnie na korcie" - napisał del Potro w dramatycznym liście do fanów, który odczytano w argentyńskich stacjach radiowych i telewizyjnych.
21-letni tenisista z Tandil we wrześniu 2009 r. był na ustach świata. Sensacyjnie zwyciężył w wielkoszlemowym US Open, pokonując po drodze Rafaela Nadala i Rogera Federera. Temu drugiemu sprzątnął sprzed nosa szósty tytuł z rzędu. Ani Marat Safin, ani Novak Djoković, czyli jedyni tenisiści poza del Potro, którzy od 2005 r. złamali hegemonię Nadala i Federera w Wielkim Szlemie, nie zrobili tego tak efektownie jak Argentyńczyk w Nowym Jorku. Nad talentem, techniką i odpornością psychiczną mierzącego 198 cm argentyńskiego kolosa rozpływali się wówczas wszyscy eksperci. Wojciech Fibak określał styl Argentyńczyka jako mieszankę mocy Safina i precyzji Agassiego. Podkreślano, że w przeciwieństwie do innych młodych wilczków jako jedyny umiał spełnić pokładane w nim nadzieje. Przewidywano, że z piątego miejsca w rankingu szybko przeskoczy na trzecie - przed Djokovicia i Andy'ego Murraya - a potem zasadzi się na sam szczyt.
Nikt się nie spodziewał, że kariera del Potro załamie się tak gwałtownie. Ręka pobolewała go już pod koniec roku. Na dobre rozbolała w styczniu w Melbourne po porażce z Chorwatem Marinem Ciliciem. Od 24 stycznia del Potro nie wyszedł już na kort ani razu. Argentyńscy lekarze próbowali naświetlań, laserów, masaży i innych cudów, ale nic nie wskórali. Dlatego we wtorek w słynnej klinice Mayo w Rochester w Minnesocie nadgarstek del Potro rozkroił światowej sławy chirurg ręki Richard Berger. Miał poukładać biegnące aż od łokcia ścięgna w kanale nadgarstka w taki sposób, by nie sprawiały bólu.
Argentyńskie media piszą, że zabieg się udał, podają przykłady Kim Clijsters i Andre Agassiego jako tych, którzy po operacjach wrócili na szczyt. Ale są też głosy, że 21 lat to w tenisie trochę za wcześnie na skalpele, że kłopoty w tak młodym wieku nie wróżą niczego dobrego na przyszłość. Na jednym z forów internetowych ktoś nazwał już del Potro "kolosem z porcelany".
Najbardziej optymistyczna prognoza mówi o powrocie do gry w październiku. US Open na pewno będzie więc miało w tym roku nowego króla.
Mimo, że za Portkiem nie przepadam bardzo smutno się to czyta...
Ale z techniką, talentem i odpornością psychiczną u niego to przesadzili ;)
szeva napisał:
Ale z techniką, talentem i odpornością psychiczną u niego to przesadzili ;)
Moim zdaniem jeden z najmocniejszych psychicznie zawodników w ATP. Wystarczy spojrzeć na finał USO, gdzie mecz kilka razy wymykał mu się z rąk, popełniał DF przy piłce setowej dla rywala, a później znakomicie reagował na tego typu niepowodzenia.
I jeszcze wiadoma informacja (ale w tym wątku być musi): Del Potro nie zagra na RG, Queens i w Wimbledonie.
Na US Open takze nie zagra:
http://sport.onet.pl/tenis/mistrz-nie-o … omosc.html
Sezon w 100% spisany na straty. Jak dobrze pojdzie zagra sobie na rozruch 2, max 3 turnieju i bedzie szykowal powrot formy na sezon 2011.
Del Potro nie obroni tytułu US Open
Juan Martin del Potro nie obroni wielkoszlemowego tytułu na tegorocznym US Open. Argentyńczyk poddał się operacji nadgarstka. - Jeśli wszystko pójdzie zgodnie z planem wrócę na kort po US Open - powiedział 21-letni numer 5. w światowym rankingu.
Na początku maja Juan Martin del Potro w dramatycznym liście poinformował swoich fanów, że będzie musiał poddać się operacji prawego nadgarstka. "Kochani! Chciałbym, żebyście usłyszeli tę bardzo smutną dla mnie wiadomość. Musiałem przejść operację i nie wiem, kiedy znów zobaczycie mnie na korcie" - napisał w oświadczeniu. Po sensacyjnym triumfie w US Open w 2009 r. Argentyńczyk określany był mianem gracza, który zdetronizuje dwóch wielkich tenisa: Rogera Federera i Rafaela Nadala. Tak się nie stało, gdyż w grudniu ubiegłego roku zaczęły się problemy z prawą ręką. Ostatni mecz 21-letni zawodnik rozegrał 24 stycznia 2010 roku.
Jak zapowiedział, tak też się stało. Dziś pierwszy raz po zabiegu, który odbył się w USA Del Potro przemówił. - Jeśli wszystko pójdzie zgodnie z planem na kort wróce po wielkoszlemowym US Open - powiedział Argentyńczyk. US Open startuje 30 sierpnia 2010 roku. - To zawsze specjalny turniej dla mnie, ale nie zamierzam się spieszyć z powrotem - przyznał numer 5. światowego tenisa po powrocie do Buenos Aires
Możliwe, że Del Potro wystąpi w halowym turnieju Paris Open, który odbedzie się pod koniec sezonu w listopadzie.
Del Potro says goodbye to this ATP season
Injured Argentine Juan Del Potro has begun giving his regrets for the remaining big events of this ATP season after undergoing wrist surgery.
The first to go was his US Open title defence, the trophy he won a year ago in the fifth set against Roger Federer.
Now, the No. 5 - and falling - South American has also said goodbye to the Queen's club grass tune-up for 2010 as he prepares to miss almost all of the rest of the season.
Del Potro last played in the Australian Open in early January and underwent wrist surgery in the US last month. He is recuperating in Argentina.
"I'm very disappointed that I won't be able to play at Queen's Club,” said Del Potro. “I was really looking forward to playing on grass this year but unfortunately my wrist injury does not allow me to. I hope to be back, fully fit to play next year."
Remaining in the field are seven of the world Top 12 headed by Rafael Nadal (who missed 2009 with injuries of his own, Serb Novak Djokovic, British hero Andy Murray (No.4), four-time winner Andy Roddick, Spain's Fernando Verdasco and Frenchman Jo Wilfried Tsonga.
Del Potro: zrobię wszystko, by wrócić w lipcu
Mistrz US Open 2009 planuje wrócić w lipcu, podczas turnieju w Los Angeles. Wszystko zależy jednak oczywiście od tego, jak będzie przebiegać rehabilitacja.
Źródło:
http://www.nacion.com/2010-05-29/Deport … 90012.aspx
Juan Martin wznowił treningi, rehabilitacja przebiega pomyślnie
Argentyński Mistrz US Open rozpoczął treningi fizyczne, w połowie trwania rehabilitacji. 2 miesiące temu Juan Martin przeszedł operację prawego nadgarstka. Tenisista nie wsytąpił ani razu na korcie od porażki z Ciliciem podczas styczniowego Australian Open. Jego powrót na kort wciąż nie jest precyzyjnie określony. Na pewno nie uda się to w lipcu. Optymistyczna (i to mocno) wersja mówi o początku sierpnia i imprezie Rogers Cup w Kanadzie.
Źródło (po hiszpańsku):
http://www.nacion.com/2010-05-29/Deport … 90012.aspx
Del Potro takes up his activity after surgery
Argentine tennis player Juan Martin Del Potro began to work physically again in the midst of his recovery from surgery on his right wrist.
The operation was conducted last month and it has not yet an official date for his return to the circuit.
The last time he played was against Croatian Marin Click, in the Australia open.
In the world ranking, La Torre del Tandil slipped to eighth, while Nadal regained the number one position.
Return to tour in sight for Del Potro
Reported on July 15, 2010
Juan Martin del Potro says a post-surgery medical examination of his wrist has shown positive signs.
"The doctor is happy with the progress," he said on his Twitter account. "Now we have to keep strengthening [it] and then be ready for the racquet."
Shortly after undergoing wrist surgery in May, del Potro said he would not be able to defend his U.S. Open title and speculated he might not return till November.
Now, he says he may return in time for Argentina's Davis Cup semifinal against France. The tie takes place the week after the U.S. Open, suggesting that del Potro may be able to play at Flushing Meadows after all.
"Davis Cup is a good date for returning to the tour, I hope I can come back sooner," del Potro told Argentine press earlier this week. "I don't want to have any illusions because I don't know when I can return to [playing with the] racquet. But I'll train hard to prepare."
Juan Martin del Potro 'expected' to play US Open - USTA
Defending champion Juan Martin del Potro is "expected" to return from injury at the US Open, says the United States Tennis Association (USTA).
The Argentine, 21, has not played since the Australian Open in January after suffering a wrist injury.
Del Potro said after undergoing surgery in May that he would miss the US Open as he did not want "to rush things".
But a USTA statement on Thursday said Del Potro "is expected to return to Grand Slam competition" in New York.
And the player's agent, Ugo Colombini, told The Associated Press: "Del Potro is working and hopefully he will be back soon."
The US Open gets under way at Flushing Meadows on 30 August and Del Potro has already confirmed that he will play at the Thailand Open, which begins on 27 September.
"I am looking forward to playing the PTT Thailand Open on my return from injury," said Del Potro.
"I really enjoyed myself on my last visit to Bangkok and hope for good results at this year's tournament."
Del Potro became the first man other than Rafael Nadal to beat Roger Federer in the final of a Grand Slam tournament at the US Open last September, but began struggling with tendinitis in his right wrist the following month.
He then suffered a recurrence of the injury in the new year and continued to struggle with the problem at the Australian Open, losing in the fourth round to Marin Cilic.
Del Potro on early entry list
Reigning U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro might defend his title, after all.
Despite being sidelined since January because of a right wrist injury that required surgery, del Potro was on the provisional entry list released Thursday by the U.S. Tennis Association for the men's field at the year's last major tournament. The U.S. Open starts Aug. 30.
In a statement, the USTA said del Potro "is expected to return to Grand Slam competition after missing the French Open and Wimbledon earlier this year."
Del Potro won his first Grand Slam title by coming back to beat five-time U.S. Open champion Roger Federer in five sets in the 2009 final at Flushing Meadows.
The 21-year-old Argentine has played in only one tournament in 2010, losing in the fourth round of the Australian Open.
Del Potro's right wrist has been a problem since last year; he retired in the second round of the Shanghai Masters in October because of tendinitis in the wrist. Then, in January, he pulled out of an exhibition tournament just days before the start of the Australian Open, citing the wrist.
He had surgery in May and is currently No. 7 in the ATP rankings.
"Del Potro is working and hopefully he will be back soon," his agent, Ugo Colombini, wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press.
Del Potro camp says their man has yet to hit a ball
Reports of the imminent return to tennis of US Open champion Juan Del Potro may be well premature, with a reality check provided from the player's fellow Argentine and coach Franco Davin.
South American media indicate that the No. 7 who has not played since the Australian Open and then underwent wrist surgery, has yet to actually hit a ball. This flies in the face of US Open officials who insisted last week that all was progressing smoothly with their drawcard defending champion, whom they said was already hitting on the practise court.
"We need to start hitting the ball gradually, 20-30 balls per day," said former player Davin. "We should not say he will return to Davis Cup or US Open. He must realize what he mentally has to repeat every day to reach the level of No. 4 in the world again."
Del Potro's anticipated return dates have been all over the charts, ranging from the US Open to the Davis Cup semi-finals against France in September. Del Potro has entered the Thailand Open, an event which begins September 27 and which could prove over time to be the most realistic venue for a comeback.
Del Potro wrócił do treningów, powrót najwcześniej na USO.
Juan Martin Del Potro Back on the Tennis Court
After weeks of speculation and months of rehab, US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro is finally back hitting tennis balls again as of today.
The Argentine tweeted earlier Monday: “Que lindo volver a pegarle a la pelotita,aunque fue suave,tuve la raqueta en la mano nuevamente..”
According to Google, translated to English he said it was nice to hit the ball again.
It remains unclear as to whether Del Potro, who hasn’t played since January, will defend his US Open title. Coach Franco Davin has not set a return date while his trainer, Diego Rivas, has said that once his tennis skills shape up he’ll have another period to get physically fit.
If Del Potro is unable to play in New York his next target for a return date is at the Davis Cup, then Bangkok in late September.
Del Potro Unable To Defend US Open Crown
Juan Martin del Potro has announced that he will not be able to defend his US Open crown this year. The Argentine has been sidelined since January with a right wrist injury and underwent surgery on 4 May at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
“I feel extremely sad to announce that I will not to be able to defend my US Open title,” said the 21-year-old del Potro. “Winning in New York last year has been my major accomplishment in tennis and my best memory so far. I am so sorry for my fans, my sponsors and all the people that care about me, but I have only started practising in the last two weeks and unfortunately I cannot compete at the top level yet. I look forward to returning to New York in 2011 and wish all the best to the tournament organizers and my fellow players."
US Open Tournament Director Jim Curley added: "It is unfortunate that Juan Martin has not recovered from wrist surgery in time to defend his US Open title. We wish him all the best and look forward to his return to New York next year."
The Tandil native became the first Argentine to capture the US Open title since Guillermo Vilas in 1977 when he defeated Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer back-to-back at Flushing Meadows last year. He went on to finish the season a personal-best No. 5 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings after reaching the final of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals (l. to Davydenko).
http://straightsets.blogs.nytimes.com/2 … ref=tennis
Del Potro w treningu. Pod tekstem znajduje się filmik z jednego z ostatnich treningów. Wyraźnie widać, że to odbijanie mocno zachowawcze. Być może i w Bangkoku na powrót może być zbyt wcześnie.
Wielka strata. US Open bez dawnego faworyta
Plaga kontuzji mocno przetrzebia stawkę tenisistów przed zaczynającym się 30 sierpnia turniejem US Open. Teraz okazało się, że kontuzjowany jest Juan Martin Del Potro. Argentyńczyk wygrał rok temu, ale teraz ma kontuzję nadgarstka.
21-letni tenisista ma problemy z urazem nadgarstka od początku tego roku. Ostatnio grał w styczniu.
- Jest mi strasznie smutno. Muszę ogłosić, że nie będę w stanie bronić tytułu US Open - powiedział Del Potro.
- To pech, że Juan Martin nie dał rady wyzdrowieć i nie będzie ronił tytułu. Życzmy mu najlepszego i mamy nadzieję zobaczyć go w US Open w następnym roku - powiedział dyrektor turnieju Jim Curley.
Wysoki Argentyńczyk pokonał w zeszłym roku w finale Rogera Federera. Ten sezon ma jednak zrujnowany przez uraz nadgarstka.
Del Potro grał w Australian Open, ale po jego zakończeniu nie pojawił się w żadnym innym turnieju. W maju ogłosił, że przeszedł operację i prawdopodobnie nei wystartuje w Wimbledonie, French Open i US Open. Okazało się to niestety prawdą.
Kibice liczyli jednak, że młody tenisista zdąży się wykurować. Gdyby wystartował miałby jednak zapewne kłopoty z osiągnięciem dobrego wyniku.
13.09.2010
34 Del Potro, Juan Martin (ARG) 1,170
To się musiało stać w sumie, ale widok niecodzienny.
Wraca jeszcze w tym roku, czy będzie zaczynał od zera w przyszłym sezonie?
jaccol55 napisał:
Wraca jeszcze w tym roku, czy będzie zaczynał od zera w przyszłym sezonie?
Na ten moment planuje wrócić w bangkoku, czyli za 2 tygodnie. Jakby podziękował zagrę w tym roku to od dosłownego zera by nie zaczynał, ma wpisane 180 pkt za AO. ;)
#2 na liście najbardziej nielubianych przeze mnie tenisistów
Fed-Expresso napisał:
Wg mnie jest bardzo sztywny, ma niestety ubogi repertuar zagrań, a obszerny zamach przed uderzeniem nie predestynuje go do szybkiej kombinacyjnej gry. Jego koordynacja ruchowa z racji wzrostu również nie może być zbyt rewelacyjna.
Wszystko zostało wyżej napisane. Dlatego go nie lubię, tak jak innych 2-metrowców.
Juan Martin del Potro wraca do gry
Mistrz US Open 2009 potwierdził swój start w turnieju ATP w Bangkoku. Będzie to pierwszy występ Argentyńczyka od czasu styczniowego Australian Open.
Plany startowe DelPo w jesiennej części sezonu 2010:
Bangkok
Tokio
Szanghaj
Wiedeń
Valencia
Paryż
Hiszpańskie źródło:
http://www.clarin.com/deportes/tenis/fi … 66192.html
C'mon Juan Martin :)
W tym sezonie się nie spodziewam jakichś wielkich wyników Argentyńczyka,ale jakiś QF,może SF byłby mile widziany przeze mnie.Dobrze że wrócił jeszcze w tym sezonie,bo będzie mu łatwiej przygotować się do sezonu 2011 gdy rozegra się w jesień.
Cudów nie ma co się spodziewać, ale na Nadala powinno styknąć :D
Fed-Expresso napisał:
Cudów nie ma co się spodziewać, ale na Nadala powinno styknąć :D
Dopiero byś się pobeczał jakby naprawdę z nim wygrał. :D
Del Potro Returns In Bangkok
Former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro will return to the ATP World Tour next week at the PTT Thailand Open in Bangkok. The former World No. 4, who now finds himself at No. 35 in the South African Airways 2010 ATP Rankings, underwent right wrist surgery 4 May in the United States. He has not played since a fourth-round appearance at the Australian Open in January eight months ago.
The 6’ 6” Argentine tweeted today: “I am extremely happy to tell you: I WILL PLAY AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!! Will be in the BANGKOK tournament next Monday. Thanks so much for everything !”
Del Potro will leave Argentina Thursday and arrive in Bangkok Saturday for just his second tournament of the year.
On 23 August, del Potro officially withdrew from the US Open, marking just the third time (1971-Rosewall and 2003-Sampras) in the Open Era that the defending champion did not compete. When he announced his withdrawal, del Potro said: “I feel extremely sad to announce that I will not to be able to defend my US Open title. Winning in New York last year has been my major accomplishment in tennis and my best memory so far. I am so sorry for my fans, my sponsors and all the people that care about me, but I have only started practising in the last two weeks and unfortunately I cannot compete at the top level yet.”
Dziś Juan Martin del Potro kończy 22 lata. Wszystkiego Najlepszego Juan! ;)
Wyniki w dniu 22 urodzin:
Z/P: 141/70
T/F: 7/3
M1000: 0/1
WTF: 0/1
WS: 1/0 (US Open 2009)
Najwyższy ranking: 4
Zarobki: $6,761,933
Najbardziej oczekiwany powrót roku!
"Cieszę się, że wreszcie mogę to ogłosić: znów będę grał!" - napisał na Twitterze Juan Martin del Potro. Argentyńczyk wraca na korty po ośmiu miesiącach przymusowej przerwy spowodowanej kontuzją nadgarstka.
Wymieniany w gronie najbardziej obiecujących zawodników młodego pokolenia del Potro zawiesił karierę po Australian Open. W maju przeszedł operację nadgarstka, na początku września wznowił treningi.
"W następny poniedziałek biorę udział w turnieju w Bangkoku" - zakomunikował w przededniu 22. urodzin. Zamiast świętować, Juan Martin del Potro wsiada w samolot i leci do Azji.
To Argentyńczyk w zeszłym sezonie pokrzyżował szyki Rogerowi Federerowi i w finale powstrzymał jego triumfalny marsz po szóstą z rzędu koronę na US Open. Wcześniej dotarł też do ćwierćfinału w Melbourne i półfinału French Open.
Z powodu kontuzji Juan Martin del Potro walkowerem musiał oddać obronę tytułu w Nowym Jorku, po który pod nieobecność Argentyńczyka sięgnął Rafael Nadal. Mocno też spadł w rankingu ATP, gdzie z czwartego miejsca wypadł do czwartej dziesiątki.
Juan Martin del Potro wrócił na korty.
W 1 rundzie turnieju w Bangkoku przegrał z Olivierem Rochusem 67 (7) 46. Nie było źle jak na pierwszy mecz po tak długim okresie absencji. Najważniejsze, że ze zdrowiem DelPo jest wszystko w porządku, stan swojego nadgarstka ocenił jako rewelacyjny. Trudno temu zaprzeczyć, 16 asów mówi za siebie. Liczę na powrót do formy i przede wszystkim brak kolejnych powikłań natury zdrowotnej.
ATP Bangkok: Nieudany powrót del Potro
Juan Martin del Potro (ATP 36) przegrał z Olivierem Rochusem (ATP 78) 6:7(7), 4:6 w I rundzie turnieju PTT Thailand Open rozgrywanego na kortach twardych w Bangkoku.Dla 22-letniego del Potro był to pierwszy mecz od czasu Australian Open, z którego w 1/8 finału wyeliminował go Chorwat Marin Čilić. Argentyńczyk przez osiem miesięcy pauzował z powodu kontuzji prawego nadgarstka. Przeszedł on operację 4 maja w Rochester, a w zeszłym miesiącu wycofał się w US Open, w którym nie mógł bronić tytułu. Argentyńczyk bardzo dobrze serwował (16 asów), ale górą był sprytniejszy filigranowy Belg, który w II secie wyszedł obronną ręką ze stanu 0:2. Rochus wygrał 16. mecz w sezonie, w lipcu w Newport osiągnął swój ósmy finał w ATP World Tour.
Nieudany powrót Del Potro. Grał dobrze, ale...
To nie był udany powrót Juana Martina del Potro na światowe korty. Już w pierwszym meczu po ośmiomiesięcznej przerwie spowodowanej kontuzją prawego nadgarstka Argentyńczyk musiał uznać wyższość niżej notowanego rywala. Jego pogromcą w pierwszej rundzie Thailand Open okazał się Belg Olivier Rochus.
Dla 22-letniego del Porto był to pierwszy pojedynek w Tourze od czasu Australian Open, gdzie w czwartej rundzie przegrał po pięciosetowym boju z Marinem Cilicem. Przewlekły uraz zmusił Argentyńczyka na początku maja do poddania się operacji nadgarstka.
We wtorkowy wieczór Rochus (78. ATP) nie miał litości dla wyższego o 30 cm rywala. W trwającym godzinę i 44 minuty meczu Belg zaserwował 16 asów, by ostatecznie wygrać 7:6(7), 6:4.
- Zagrałem dzisiaj dobrze - powiedział po meczu del Potro. - Miałem swoje szanse w tie-breaku pierwszego seta, ale Olivier zagrał kilka fantastycznych piłek. Poza tym on dobrze serwował, a na tej nawierzchni ma to ogromne znaczenie. Cieszę się, że udało mi się wrócić do gry. Mam nadzieję, że z moją formą będzie coraz lepiej - dodał Argentyńczyk.
Del Potro Says Wrist Is 'Perfect'
Despite losing his comeback match Tuesday in Bangkok, Juan Martin del Potro is looking confidently to the remainder of the season after saying that his right wrist gave him no trouble in his 7-6(7), 6-4 loss to Belgian Olivier Rochus.
“The most important thing for today is my wrist – and it’s perfect. I hope to play five or six more tournaments between now and the end of the season,” said del Potro, who is scheduled to play the ATP World Tour 500 tournament next week in Tokyo.
“It was a great moment for me being with the fans on centre court playing a match again. I felt very happy. I lost today but I have good things to take for the future.”
Del Potro, once ranked as high as No. 4, now finds himself at No. 36 in the South African Airways 2010 ATP Rankings after missing the past eight months of the ATP World Tour season. The PTT Thailand Open was his first tournament appearance since January’s Australian Open and since he underwent right wrist surgery on 4 May in the United States.
Encouraged by his comeback match, del Potro said that he hoped to return to the top of the game soon. “I need to work hard to get back into the Top 10. Of course I would love to be back there soon.”
The 22 year old was unlucky to run into a red-hot Rochus, who at 5’ 6”, is a full foot shorter than the Argentine. “Of course he’s not playing his best tennis yet but it’s still an amazing victory for me,” said World No. 78 Rochus. “I can’t play much better than I did today.”
Del Potro struck 16 aces but offered up nine break point chances, dropping serve once in each set.
“I played a good match. I had my chances in the first-set tie-break and he played some great points. He served very good, which was important on this kind of surface. I’m just happy to be back on the circuit and I hope I get better and better. He played very well today.”
Del Potro will need time
When a player struggles with a major injury, you never know how they are going to react.
Some people are never the same player again. I'm not sure Marat Safin ever fully recovered from his wrist injury, although obviously there were other issues as well. Discipline was very important with him but it seemed to me like the wrist was a major issue.
I think it'll take a bit of time for Juan Martin Del Potro to get himself back on track. The injury happened at just the wrong time. If you think what's happened since then, it couldn't have happened at a worse time for the Argentine.
It was great that he won the US Open but I think he might have won at least another Slam by now - Murray for one reason or another hasn't won one, Djokovic is starting to play well, Federer hasn't played that well but is starting to look better again and so it's been left to Rafael Nadal to clean up.
If Del Potro had been there he might have found it harder and I think he'd have won one of the summer Slams and possibly the Australian Open.
Only he knows the feel of the thing and how severe it is. Is he having to be more careful with the injury? Is he able to hit full-out on his ground-strokes? I sense, without having seen too much, that he wouldn't have come back yet unless he could hit full-out.
So it's just a question of getting his game back on track. It's bound to take time to get into his groove, especially with the kind of power game he has.
Kim Clijsters really struggled with a wrist injury before she retired but since she's come back there's been no sign of that problem. And it may be like that for Del Potro as well. I hope so because I think there's another two or three Grand Slams in him.
I shouldn't expect too much for him for the rest of the year but at this stage I'd look at him to be a threat for the Aussie Open next year.
Autor: ukochany Simon Reed
Del Potro Withdraws from Shanghai
News out of Argentina is that Juan Martin Del Potro’s recent comeback is on hold, and fortunately not because of his wrist.
According to his management, Del Potro will sit out Shanghai and likely the remainder of the season to sort out other minor physical issues.
Being such a fragile giant physically, I was initially worried that maybe Delpo returned to quickly, and it looks like that’s what has happened. But better that than him re-injuring the wrist which his people maintain is perfectly “fine”.
If he was having other issues than this is a smart move. There’s no need to take a chance at the end of the season when you can get a full two months to train and recover for 2011.
Del Potro was 0-2 in his return with straight set losses to Olivier Rochus in Bangkok and Feliciano Lopez in Tokyo a few days ago.
David Nalbandian is also out of Shanghai which begins next week.
Agent DelPo powiedział, że Juanowi nie dokucza nadgarstek. Argentyńczyk opuści Szanghaj, bo po powrocie na korty okazało się, że sporo mu brakuje pod względem przygotowania fizycznego, by móc choćby nawiązać walkę z szeroką światową czołówką.
Mistrz USO09 ma być gotowy na Wiedeń.
Juanowi odpiszą pod koniec sezonu 800 punktów za występ w turnieju Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.
Przy złym zbiegu okolicznośći może wylondować poza pierwszą setką.
W najgorszym wypadku(Juan nie wygra do końca sezonu meczu) czeka go pozycja około 253 miejsca.
I tak wszędzie będzie się łapał dzięki WC. ;-)
Koniec sezonu dla del Potro.
JMDP Podobno nie wyjdzie już na kort w tym roku, mówi się o tym że następne dwa miesiące zamierza poświęcić na trening i odbudowę formy. ;)
"I decided to close my season 2010 to train hard the next 2 months and begin 2011 in good shape."
"I return to my best and keep working hard to achieve this as soon as possible. Thank you very much everybody for being with me!"
Tu jest dowód słów Radka ;)
Del Potro pulls the plug on 2010
Juan Martin Del Potro will begin 2011 with a clean slate regarding ranking point with nothing to defend for the entire season after again delaying his comeback to tennis following May wrist surgery.
The 2009 US Open winner declared his aborted 2010 campaign done after losing in a pair of first-round matches in Bangkok and Tokyo as his right wrist recovery proved to be incomplete. "I've decided to end my 2010 season and start training for the next two months to begin 2011 in good shape," he wrote on Twitter.
The No. 36 from Argentina will now miss both Vienna next week and Valencia from November 1.
Del Potro underwent surgery on his right wrist last May. "This year was very bad, very bad. I suffered a lot. People must for a long time know that I will be lacking in pace, away from my best tennis," said the South American in a television interview.
"I began the Australia Open is one of the favorite with chances to be number one. Suddenly, everything collapsed. I went several months without getting a proper diagnosis."
DUN I LOVE napisał:
DEL POTRO WYBRAŁ SAN JOSE
Juan Martin del Potro zgłosił wstępną chęć gry w turnieju ATP w San Jose, który rozegranie zostanie w lutym 2011 roku na zachodnim wybrzeżu Stanów Zjednoczonych.
Swój udział w turnieju SAP Open zadeklarowali również James Blake i Tommy Haas. Wcześniej uczynili to Fernando Verdasco (obrońca tytułu), Gael Monfils, Mardy Fish, Sam Querrey, Lleyton Hewitt i Kei Nishikori.
Organizatorzy potwierdzili także, że turniej uatrakcyjni mecz pokazowy 14-krotnego Mistrza turniejów wielkoszlemowych Pete’a Samprasa z Gaelem Monfilsem.
Juan Martin, co było oczywiste, spadł o 224 pozycje i po odjęciu punktów za finał WTF09 Argentyńczyk jest obecnie 259 zawodnikiem rankingu ENTRY.
Podsumowanie tego fatalnego dla DelPo sezonu.
Ranking: 259
Bilans meczów: 3-3
Tytuły/finały: 0/0
Zarobki: $95,273
WHAT AWAITS JUAN MARTIN IN 2011?
Juan Martin del Potro will be trying
to work back towards the Top 10 in 2011.
ATPWorldTour.com previews five storylines to watch during the 2011 season, beginning with Juan Martin del Potro's return.
Great things were expected for Juan Martin del Potro in 2010 after he became a Grand Slam champion at 20 years of age with his five-set triumph over five-time defending champion Roger Federer at the US Open. Finishing the 2009 season with a runner-up finish in his Barclays ATP World Tour Finals debut and a World No. 5 ranking, the youngster from Tandil looked poised to become the chief threat to the ATP’s big four of Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.
But del Potro’s 2010 season proved largely anticlimatic. He entered the Australian Open with a wrist injury and lost in the fourth round, then withdrew from his next tournaments before opting to undergo surgery in May. He returned to the courts in late September in Bangkok, where he was encouraged despite his loss to Olivier Rochus – “The most important thing for today is my wrist, and it’s perfect,” he said afterwards – but curtailed his comeback attempt the following week after making another first-round exit in Tokyo.
“I have decided to end my 2010 season in order to train hard for two months and start 2011 in top shape,” he wrote on Twitter.
As he begins 2011, the 22 year old will be looking to see if he can recover the form that carried him into the Top 5 of the South African Airways ATP Rankings. Currently at No. 257 – his lowest ranking in more than five years – del Potro will be looking for his first match win in nearly a year when he launches his comeback in Australia.
The first couple months could provide a good indication of whether del Potro is fully recovered from his injury and can once again challenge the circuit’s best. In addition to the Australian Open, del Potro has already committed to a number of ATP World Tour 250 tournaments, including the Medibank International Sydney in the week prior to the year’s first major and the U.S. hard-court tournaments in February at San Jose and Delray Beach.
“I need to work hard to get back into the Top 10. Of course I would love to be back there soon,” said del Potro. The good news for the Argentine? He only has 180 points to defend in 2011. By winning his second Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, del Potro could skyrocket into the Top 20.
Del Potro will be joined on the comeback trail by two other former Top 10 players, Tommy Haas and Fernando Gonzalez. The 32-year-old Haas, who reached a career-high No. 2 ranking in 2002, played in just four tournaments in 2010 before undergoing right hip surgery in late February. Former World No. 5 Gonzalez, 30, was sidelined three months in 2010 with a knee injury and was expected to be out of action another eight to nine months following right hip surgery in October.
I tak zarobił więcej niż ja przez 5 lat :P
del Potro sails into 2011
Juan Martin del Potro, who stormed to prominence in 2009 with his US Open victory, is back in Australia looking to erase the memories of a disappointing season last year.
Having been unable to defend his major title in New York due to a wrist injury last year, the Argentine is thrilled to be back on the ATP World Tour, enjoying Sydney’s iconic harbour ahead of his Medibank International Sydney campaign.
Del Potro returns with high hopes
Juan Martin Del Potro, the US Open 2009 champion, successfully negotiated his way around Hisense Arena in his first practice session at Melbourne Park in 2011.
The long-limbed Argentine, who made his long-awaited return from a wrist injury at the Medibank International in Sydney this week, threw his 6ft 6ins frame around the Australian Open's No.2 roofed court, testing out every shot in his arsenal, his famous forehand in particular, as he aims to hit top form ahead of the opening round next week.
Having sent shock waves rippling through the game with his maiden Grand Slam triumph at Flushing Meadows two years ago, 2010 was a year fraught with delays for the former world No.4. Injuring his wrist during a match at the Kooyong round robin last year, Del Potro put himself through four gruelling matches at Melbourne Park, eventually losing in five sets to Marin Cilic in the fourth round. The Australian Open appearance proved to be the only competitive matches that the Argentine was able to play all year, as his return from injury was put off again, and again, and again.
Thus it was no surprise that all eyes were on the no-longer-sleeveless Del Potro as he defeated Feliciano Lopez in the opening round in Sydney, before losing to Florian Mayer in the second round. Now ranked No.259, the former US Open champ will be keen to mark his return to form in emphatic style, but to do so he will have to get past feisty Israeli Dudi Sela in his first round match. The pair have met three times in competition, all on hard courts. Del Potro won the two most recent encounters, in Tokyo in September 2008, and in Washington in August 2008, while Sela picked up the first in Tokyo in 2007.
The unseeded Del Potro is in the top half of the draw alongside world No.1 Rafael Nadal, and, should his body hold up, could meet fifth seed Andy Murray in the fourth round.
AO 2011 - wywiad po zwycięstwie w 1 rundzie
Q. How good does it feel to be back in a Grand Slam arena after so much frustration for you?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Well, I feel good. Is nice for me be here with these players, this tournament, and of course playing a Grand Slam.
Today I play good tennis again. But I'm really enjoying this week. I met with all the players, especially the top 10 players. They support me when I was very bad. So now I face to face with them and I say thank you.
Q. Did you have to change your technique a little bit to put less pressure on your wrist?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: I trying to not. I feel in good shape again. I work very hard with my physical trainer. I need time to play harder and to play stronger. But just I need time.
Sometimes some balls I play, I hit very, very far, and sometimes not. But with time and with training and with focus in every practice, I will take again.
Q. Have you become a very patient person? Usually young people are impatient; they want to see everything very quickly.
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Yeah, I know the way to be with good ranking again. But it's a long road. I need to work very hard because all the players are very tough at this moment. All players playing good tennis, especially here in the five set matches.
But I'm still improving my game. I feel good with my wrist. That's important to training every day and to feel comfortable for the next tournaments.
Q. Can you describe this last year with your injury.
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: I had a very bad year. For three or four months nobody knows about my wrist. I think that's a bad thing for my mind. But after the surgery, the doctor say between four and six months you will be playing again. I was very, very quiet. Because if I do my step by step very quiet, I will be playing again. That's what is happen now.
I have a good start season. I beat Feliciano López last week and today I won another match. That's what I need. I need time, I need matches, I need sets, I need hours into the court. Then in the future, I will be better.
Q. You talked about the support of the fellow top 10 players. How did they support you? Did they call you or send messages?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Everything. They call me and they send an emails, everything. It's important. They have all his schedule very close, very completed. Sometimes if you got his callings, is good because they are thinking about you and about yourself. So I just want to say thank you to all of them. For me it's good playing against them again.
Q. Was someone calling you or writing you more than others, better friends you have on the circuit?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: My better friends are in Tandil. I don't know. With one matches is good, is enough to feel they support. I don't care if Federer send me ten message and Rafa send me two. The important thing, it's they send to me and they was thinking about me. So I just want to say thank you.
I was watching his matches in my home. I'm really want to congratulate all of them because they are making amazing tennis for the fans and for the players, too.
Q. I know you have to play more matches, but do you feel as strong now as you were when you won the US Open?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: I don't think so. I say last week I have this present today from this tournament. To my future, I will try my best. I don't want to think in the past. I won a Grand Slam, but I'm working to improve my game. I don't know if I can play like two years ago or not, but I will try.
Every practicing, every day, I speak with Franco. If he say, Make hundred service, I will do it for be good with myself. I'm trying to improve every day. I'm trying to fight with the top 10 players again.
Q. What is the most difficult thing for you now that you've been away for such a long time?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Everything. Everything is difficult. But I am really enjoy be here again. I know maybe two years ago, play against 200 players, feel good. But this is my present. If I play against Rafa or if I play against 50 different player, I will feel I don't know very complicated. It just depends my game. It just depends my mind, my physic.
I know the way to win matches, but I need time to do it.
Q. Do you realize there were only two players who won a slam out of the last 23 slams? One was you and the other was Djokovic. Is that something you almost don't believe today or something that gives you pride and hope that you'll be back?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: I already won my Grand Slam. Djokovic, too. But maybe Murray, Novak, Soderling, now they have the game to beat Rafa and Roger.
I am very far away, but I'm working to be in that level in the future. I'm trying to beat Rafa and Roger in same Grand Slam to win another one.
Big Blueby Pete Bodo
Can a first-set tiebreaker determine the course of a match? A tournament? A year? A career? Such questions are tempting on the heels of Juan Martin del Potro's first-round win at the Australian Open yesterday, and while we'd better leave the latter three of those questions alone, it seems pretty obvious that Delpo's 7-6 (15-13) first set against a game Dudi Sela deflated the loser and boosted Delpo's confidence, enabling him to roll through the next two sets tidily: 6-4, 6-4.
U.S. readers may understand and even smile at the thought of calling del Potro Big Blue, that sobriquet having been on lease to the New York Football Giants for decades now. But the cognomen isn't apt merely because Delpo is big (6-6) and perpetually seems to be dressed in blue or some shade thereof. He also plays a brand of tennis comparable to the style of football that earned the Giants the "Big Blue" acknowledgment. It's essentially smash-mouth football, or tennis, and Delpo was a master of it until last year at this time, when a wrist injury during this same tournament forced him into what would ultimately become a full year off.
Which brings us to a few more "big" and "blue" themes. When del Potro first burst upon our radar in 2008, it was in a big way. Although he won his first ATP tour title in Adelaide in 2007 and ultimately ended up the youngest player in the Top 50 (he was just a shade over 19) for the year, he simply blew up halfway through the following year.
In the summer of 2008, he won titles on clay in Stuttgart and Kitzbuhel and, without missing a beat, moved to hard courts and bagged the championships at Los Angeles and Washington D.C. In one of those hard court events, he accomplished something of which few players are capable: He overpowered Andy Roddick. There are a fair number of ways to beat Roddick, but blasting through him isn't usually one of them.
Delpo's streak continued, against all odds and, to some degree, contrary to all we thought we knew about how tough it is to excel on successive days and in consecutive events during the debilitating dog days of July and August, before a body wilts. The run finally ended at the U.S. Open, where Andy Murray throttled Delpo in the quarterfinals.
By then, we'd noticed a few other things about the surprisingly quick and unexpectedly durable native of Tandil, Argentina. His demeanor and the image he projected were those not just of a gentle, slump-shouldered giant, but one whose undemonstrative personality hinted at a touch of depression. He often seemed blue. He'd told us that were he not a tennis player, he would have pursued a career in architecture, a revelation that was both refreshing (imagine that, a tennis player who didn't suspect that down deep he's another Ronaldo!) and understandable, given that an architect can spend much time dreamily locked within his own mind, building fabulous things.
Still, Delpo is more Harold Solomon than Harold Roark, so it was not exactly surprising when, his wrist injury having become a much bigger issue than first thought, reports circulated last year that Delpo was suffering from anxiety and perhaps even bouts of depression.
What could we expect? One moment, the guy is pounding Roger Federer into oblivion in the U.S. Open final (2009), the next he's back home in Tandil, unable to swing a racket. Not only did Delpo miss a chance to defend his first major, he didn't even get a chance to win or lose in one following his moment of triumph. He had plenty of reason to be blue. In his press conference yesterday, he said: "I had a very bad year. For three or four months nobody knows about my wrist. I think that's a bad thing for my mind."
Del Potro returned to competition late last year and, after playing poorly and losing two first-rounders in Asia, pulled the plug on 2010. He went back to the drawing board after a humiliating 6-3, 6-0 loss to Feliciano Lopez in Tokyo. In his first match of this new year, he battered that same opponent through three grueling hours in Sydney before finally punching through, winning two of three tiebreakers. That win took a lot out of him (Delpo would lose his next match in desultory fashion to Florian Mayer), but it turned out those three 'breakers were good practice for Sela. When they reached 6-all in that first-set tiebreaker (with Sela wiping away a set point with a service winner), they were less than halfway to the point of resolution.
The tiebreaker is an interesting and daunting challenge for a player who isn't in peak competitive form, and there's no way a pro can get into that degree of shape simply through practice. The sparring partner could be Rafael Nadal or Federer, it doesn't matter. The synapses fire and the nerves sing in entirely different ways when it really counts, and both players know it.
So Delpo's ability to win a tiebreaker against a tricky, sometimes Santoro-esque rival, after having been down five set points was, in its own right, a herculean achievement that probably earned a much larger return than is usually warranted from such a brief investment of time and energy. The moment he cracked that giant forehand crosscourt winner, you could almost see Delpo issue an enormous sigh of relief and hear him think: I can do this, I really can!
What I liked about Delpo's game was that he continued to hit -- or tried to hit -- a big ball, even when he was in a tight jam. At times he didn't get adequate depth on his groundstrokes, which is critically important for him and a virtue that played the major role in his upset of Federer in the 2009 U.S. Open final. You can pin that down to nerves and the inhibitions bred by lack of exposure to stress.
At other times, Delpo appeared somewhat sluggish, which could not have been attributed to his degree of fitness, despite Delpo having confessed that he wasn't in ideal shape when he tried to make his original comeback last fall. So the sleepy quality had to be nerves again, and/or a lack of that instant response reaction that comes from competitive seasoning. Even a naturally quick player can appear slow or flat-footed when he's not utterly, neurologically immersed in a match.
But the important thing is that Delpo endured; he struggled, hung in there, sloughed off the pressure when Sela held set points, kept his frustration and concentration in check when he blew opportunities of his own (none of them in a way that might induce a roll of the eyes, unusual in a tiebreaker featuring a total of nine set points), and he got plenty of stick on the ball on some critical occasions, including the set-ender.
Delpo's game and career are presently like one of those giant 1,000 piece puzzles. You know from the box what the completed picture is meant to look like, but it's hard to get started, to find among those thousand pieces a few that can be identified as part of this or that portion of the landscape and fit together. Delpo isn't expecting miracles, even if some of his fans are. As he said, "I know the way to win matches. I just need time to do it."
Yesterday, it seeemed, Delpo found a few of those pieces and began to put the puzzle together. I think the pieces he found were from the top of the puzzle, pieces of a big, blue sky.
Del Potro was gone but not forgotten by Federer, Nadal
Juan Del Potro is marveling after rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal both kept in touch during his long months of 2010 rehabilitation on a wrist injury which resulted in his forced exile from tennis.
The 2009 US Open champion revealed that he received communications during his convalescence from May surgery from both of the world's top two.
The Argentine played his last match at the Australian Open a year ago and underwent an aborted return attempt in October after surgery in May. The one-time No. 4 who beat Federer for the New 2009 York Grand Slam title, finally resumed play this month has reached the second round at Melbourne Park.
"They call me, they sent e-mails, everything," said Del Potro of Federer and Nadal's concern. "It's important. They all have very tight, complicated schedules. If they call it shows they are thinking about you, so I just want to say thank you to all of them.
"For me it's good playing against them again. It's enough just to feel their support. I don't care if Federer sent me 10 messages and Rafa sent me two. The important thing is they sent them and they were thinking about me.
"I watched their matches at home. I really want to congratulate them because they are producing amazing tennis for the fans -- and for the players too."
Del Potro Departs
Disagreement is the name of the game in tennis, however far and wide you travel. I was sitting in a coffee shop a few mornings ago near Melbourne Park, happily attempting not to think about the sport for a few minutes, when I heard two American women at the next table discussing which matches they wanted to see at the Australian Open. They, of course, couldn’t agree on anything. They had very strong, and very contradictory, opinions about each player who came up.
“Did you see the hideous dress she was wearing?”
“He’s totally obnoxious.”
“That screeching.”
“He’s fun to watch, but I know you don’t like him.”
Finally, they found someone upon which they could both nod their heads in unison.
“We have to go see del Potro.”
“Definitely.”
There’s something about Juan Martin del Potro that tennis fans and player and writers and commentators like (actually, I do know one person who doesn’t dig the Argentine, but I won’t reveal her name here). He once had bad hair, and he used to take an interminable amount of time to decide whether he was going to challenge a call. But absence has made the collective heart grow fonder. Everyone feels for a guy who had a massive career breakthrough at the 2009 U.S. Open only to see his career go up in smoke for a year. Del Potro said he was stunned by how many get-well messages he received from fellow players.
The sympathy didn’t stop with his colleagues. I was watching on my monitor in the press room last night when del Potro’s racquet flew out of his hand, and it looked for a second like his surgically repaired wrist was about to become unrepaired (it didn't). The Channel 7 commentators, Jim Courier and John Fitzgerald, sounded crushed for him. I would have been crushed for him as well if something had gone wrong. He’s the kind of guy you can feel crushed for.
Del Potro’s appeal rests with his transparent yet dignified emotionalism. He doesn’t wear his heart way out on his sleeve, but there’s no hiding how he feels, either; how many other tennis players can express melancholy? The Argentines are high strung as a group, and they very often let their emotions get the better of their games. Yesterday David Nalbandian seemed dead set on staying as enraged as possible for as long as he possible after someone in the crowd disturbed him as he was hitting an overhead. Nalbandian never recovered. He lost seven straight games and retired—due to annoyance, it seemed, as much as anything else—in the third set against Ricardas Berankis.
There are days when del Potro seems to shrink from the battle and even mope—Davis Cup final 2008, final of the World Tour Final 2009—but for the most part he puts his emotions to good use. Rather than hop off the court and pump his fist and stare at his coach after the first game, à la Lleyton Hewitt or Gael Monfils, del Potro stays quiet, broods, stews, and then lets loose with a furious display. Some nights he waits too long to rev himself up. Even in his U.S. Open win, it took him nearly two sets to show anything; he was almost done before he dug himself into the match. The same was true last night. Del Potro had break chances in the first set, but that’s where the rust showed. He couldn’t finish them. He seemed tentative in general at first, but by the third he was fully into it. More important, though, the rust showed in his movement. Whenever del Potro gave his opponent, Marcos Baghdatis, any kind of angle, he was toast. Baghdatis had him coming and going, crosscourt and down the line. Del Potro couldn’t catch up to either.
Del Potro’s long road back has begun. I thought it was promising. He at least looked like the same player, with the same strokes and same heavy power, and he can still get around a tennis court pretty well for a big guy. I’m sure he wondered whether he would ever do any of those things again during his time away. We can all agree—it’s a start.
The man who ended del Potro’s beginning, Baghdatis, looked sharp and . . . light. He’s dropped a few pounds, and it shows. He’s always had the timing. If he’s getting to the ball half a step earlier, the way he was tonight, that ball-striking ability will make him dangerous. His next match, against Jurgen Melzer, should be an entertaining one. It’s also a winnable one. Then he would face Andy Murray. Baghdatis’s Cypriot support has been out again in 2011. Whole families will come to see him, not just young rowdies—though there are plenty of those in attendance. Baghdatis says it’s like playing “in his kitchen,” with the extended family all around. It would be nice to see him get cooking here again. Baghdatis does wear his heart on his sleeve, but as with Juan Martin del Potro, most of us can agree: We want to see him doing well.
Pierwszy miesiąc po powrocie na korty już za Juanem. Uważam, że nie było źle. 2 porażki (Mayer w Sydney i Baghdatis na AO) nie były zaskoczeniem, wszak przegrywał z zawodnikami dużo wyżej od siebie w tej chwili notowanymi, niemniej styl tych porażek też nie był jakiś żałosny, a po walce.
Teraz Del Potro poważnie osunie się w rankingu i na dobre będzie mógł rozpocząć ponowną wspinaczkę. Do końca sezonu już nic nie broni. Oby zdrowie dopisało.
Bilans gier w styczniu: 2-2.
Powodzenia ;)
AO 2011 - wywiad po porażce w 2 rundzie
Q. How is your wrist? Anything to worry about there?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: No. Just for safety because I did a bad movement on the serve, and that's just be safer for the rest of the match.
Q. What are your thoughts about the match, how you're progressing with your game?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Well, is difficult to say now how I'm feeling. Marcos playing very well since a couple years ago.
Every player for me at this moment, it's very tough. But I'm still improving. I'm playing better than Sydney. I think that's positive for the next tournaments.
AO 2011 - wywiad po porażce w 2 rundzie
Q. You must be feeling pretty good about your game, the way you're playing.
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Especially today. I had a not so good first round match. I had to fight out there. I won that one today. With my coach, I think we put a great tactic in place and it worked pretty well.
Q. You've had a lot of long matches here. This could have easily been another one. Nice to finish it in quick time.
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: For sure. It's nice to finish matches early to keep some energy for the next rounds of the tournament.
But, yeah, for sure.
Q. Are you feeling plenty of crowd support as well?
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: It's great. Every time I come here, I feel great. It feels like I can say my living room. Rod Laver, I played so many matches. I feel so good there. I feel like home. So, yeah.
Q. How far do you think you can progress?
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Take it match per match. I won today. It's a great victory for me. Just go relax today and start thinking about my next opponent tomorrow or maybe tomorrow night.
Q. What do you think about Jurgen Melzer? You're playing him the first time ever.
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Yeah, I think so. I never played him before. He's playing pretty good. Lefty.
Like I said, I'm not at that match yet. You know, I just won a great match today. I played really good. Go talk with my coach about what I did well, what I have to improve, then start talking about Melzer tomorrow.
Q. Where do you see your level right now? How close to your best form that you had before?
MARCOS BAGHDATIS: I'm improving every year, like all the players are improving. I can say I'm playing the best tennis of my life every year. So I cannot say, you know. Everybody's improving. Tennis is changing. It's not like 2006. Everything is moving.
I think I'm in good shape, best shape.
Del Potro, zgodnie z oczekiwaniami, poleciał na łeb na szyję w rankingu. Jest dziś 485 i na tę chwilę niżej chyba nie upadnie. Mistrz US Open 2009 rozegra teraz 3 turnieje na kortach twardych w Ameryce Północnej. W San Jose zagra dzięki rankingowi chronionemu (pierwszy turniej, gdzie korzysta z tego przywileju, przed sezonem FAQ ATP przewidywało dla takiego gracza 9 turniejowych szans na skorzystanie z "PR"), a organizatorzy ATP Memphis i DB przyznali mu dziką kartę (poszli w ślady włodarzy turnieju ATP w Sydney).
150 wygranych meczów del Potro. ;)
Argentine Juan Martin del Potro earned his 150th match win on Tuesday at the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships, as he dismissed up-and-coming Lithuanian Richard Berankis 6-4, 6-1.
... po półtorarocznej przerwie.
#8) Delray Beach 2011
Juan startował w turnieju dzięki przepustce Special Exempt.
R32 Richard Berankis (LTU) 6-4 6-1
R16 Teymuraz Gabashvili (RUS) 6-1 6-1
QF [5] Kevin Anderson (RPA) 6-4 6-4
SF [2] Mardy Fish (USA) 6-1 7-5
F [6] Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) 6-4 6-4
Przez cały turniej nie stracił nawet seta. Gratulacje! :spoko2:
Del Potro breaks title drought
Juan Martin del Potro won his first title since 2009 by defeating Janko Tipsarevic 6-4 6-4 to clinch the
Argentine Del Potro, who played just three tournaments in 2010 because of an injury to his right wrist, needed just under two hours to claim his eighth career title.
"It's amazing for me, this comeback," Del Potro said in a courtside interview. "I'm trying to improve my game day-by-day and today Janko played better than me but I had a little luck in the important moments."
Del Potro, once ranked fourth in the world but now 166 because of his injury, appeared out of gas in the opening set but got stronger as the match progressed.
"I was playing at night, every match," said Del Potro, who will crack the top 100 when the next rankings are released. "And today was a little bit hot for me. I just tried to focus on my serve, especially on my break points."
Del Potro broke the 26-year-old Tipsarevic three times in five break-point chances, denying the Serb a chance at his first career title.
When Tipsarevic, seeded sixth, punched a forehand wide to end the match, Del Potro raised his arms and looked skyward before dropping his racket and kissing his once-injured wrist.
Del Potro, 22, fought off 10 of 11 break points by Tipsarevic to claim his first tournament since defeating Roger Federer to win the 2009 US Open.
Reuters
"Calm" Del Potro Taking Things In His Stride
Juan Martin del Potro’s comeback to the ATP World Tour has been gathering pace over the past few weeks and the Argentine begins his BNP Paribas Open campaign on Thursday afternoon with a first-round clash against Radek Stepanek.
The 22-year-old del Potro was restricted to just three tournaments in 2010 due to a right wrist injury, for which he underwent surgery in May. The former World No. 4 began the season at No. 258 in the South African Airways 2011 ATP Rankings, but has clawed his way back up to No. 90 this week after strong showings in the United States in February, which included winning his first title since the 2009 US Open with victory in Delray Beach (d. Tipsarevic).
Speaking to Argentine newspaper La Nacion, del Potro said, “I’m quite calm about things. I’m happy that the results are starting to come, but at the same time I’m not relaxing and thinking that I’m back to where I was two years ago. Winning is motivation and I trust in the work I’m doing and my daily training. Also my wrist is feeling better. But I know that it is a long way back and it could take me months, even the whole year.”
Del Potro is making his third appearance in Indian Wells, with his best result a quarter-final showing (l. to Nadal) in 2009. He was beaten in the second round by Richard Gasquet on his debut in 2007. The Tandil native has a 31-19 match record in ATP World Tour Masters 1000 play and has reached one final, finishing runner-up to Andy Murray in Montreal two years ago.
Two American qualifiers complete the ATP World Tour line-up on Stadium 1 on Thursday, with Donald Young to face Italian Potito Starace in the first match and Michael Russell to meet South African Kevin Anderson in the last match of the day.
Thursday Order Of Play
Two of the ATP World Tour’s rising stars are in action on Stadium 3. Tobias Kamke, who was named 2010 ATP World Tour Newcomer of the Year, faces Serbian Janko Tipsarevic, while Lithuanian wild card Richard Berankis will look to notch his first win at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 level when he faces Alex Bogomolov Jr.
Del Potro feels his comeback is gaining momentum
After six months of false starts and disappointment, Juan Del Potro feels he's back on a sustained winning track after advancing into the third round at the Indian Wells Masters.
The one-time No. 4 whose last major achievement was a 2009 US Open title, of course has no regrets after knocking out holder Ivan Ljubicic in the Californian desert.
"I feel bad that I beat the last champion, but it's a nice victory for my comeback," said the 22-year-old who was sidelined during much of 2010 by wrist surgery. "I played good tennis. I was focused all the match on trying to take my opportunities. I think I played better than him, and that was the key of the match."
The Argentine made several aborted comeback efforts last autumn in Asia, but gave up up the battle until the start of 2011 when it became apparent he was not ready for a full-blown return. Del Potro played just three events last season, but made an key breakthrough with last month's ATP title in Delray Beach.
"I'm playing much better," said the South American. "I have improved my forehand, my serve, my physical condition, everything. It's easier when you win a match. You can improve very fast if you still play (in tournaments) and are still winning."
The San Jose semi-finalist whose ranking is back to 90th from just under 500 in less than a month, added: ""I'm very calm with my level, I know that it's a long road to the top again, but I'm working. I have the game – if I'm healthy. I need time to improve, to work hard. Maybe in a couple of months, maybe next year, I will be ready to play against all of the top players."
Del Potro Confirms Queen's Mission As Comeback Gathers Pace
Juan Martin Del Potro will continue his impressive comeback from wrist surgery when he plays on grass in the AEGON Championships at The Queen's Club in June. He will do so with the encouraging words of two of tennis’ greatest champions - John McEnroe and Mats Wilander - ringing in his ears.
The Argentine, who won the US Open in 2009, missed eight months of the 2010 season, including the AEGON Championships and Wimbledon. He is looking forward to making up for lost time by taking on the top two tennis players in the world, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, and four-time champion Andy Roddick, at The Queen's Club this year.
“I like London, I played at the AEGON Championships a couple of years ago and I really enjoyed it,” said Del Potro. “If you want to be a really good player you have to win on grass courts. I never had good results on grass before so this year could be a chance for me to improve my game on grass at Queen’s and at Wimbledon. I have to learn many things on that surface but I will be ready to do it. Any tournament I play I want to win and If I can play my best level I think I can do it.”
The 22-year-old man from Tandil in Argentina endured a tough time after sustaining his wrist injury last year, but he has recently returned to the sport, winning the title in Delray Beach, Florida, and reaching the semifinals in Indian Wells. He jumped 39 ranking places to No.51 this week.
“I missed everything - the tournaments, the fans, the stadiums, the other players, I really missed everything,” said Del Potro, who was not even able to defend his US Open crown. “But now I’m here again and I’m trying to play a good level. Everything was difficult after my surgery, but those bad things are the past. Now I am having a good ‘present’, I’m healthy, and if I work and still improve my game, I will have a good future.”
Standing 6’6”, Del Potro hits the ball from the baseline as hard as anyone in the history of the sport, and his comeback has received support from the two former World Number Ones, McEnroe and Wilander.
“I certainly hope he can come back to where he was,” said McEnroe, who won four titles at The Queen’s Club, three Wimbledon crowns and now stars on the ATP Champions Tour.
“It’s important that we have some contenders and when he won the US Open it looked like he was going to be a real, legitimate contender for years to come. He was the first guy of that height that could really stand up to the physicality and bruising you take on a tennis court. A wrist injury is a tough one to come back from but it would be great to see him come back fully from it. If he can, he can still be a contender."
Wilander is convinced that he will.
“Juan Martin Del Potro is as strong as anyone mentally, and he's got such a big game that if he can stay healthy I do believe he’s going to win many, many more majors (Grand Slam titles) and he’s going to be beating the very best players in the world,” he said.
The AEGON Championships will be broadcast live, every day from 6th-12th June, on BBC Television and Eurosport.
Del Potro keen to earn grass wins in Britain
South American ace Juan Del Potro plans to emphasize grass this summer with a vow to lift his game in Britain in time for Wimbledon.
"I like London, I played at Queen's club a couple of years ago - losing four years ago in the second round against Rafael Nadal - and I really enjoyed it. If you want to be a really good player you have to win on grass courts.
"I've never had good results on grass before so this year could be a chance for me to improve my game at Queen's and Wimbledon. I have to learn many things on that surface but I will be ready to do it.
"Any tournament I play I want to win and If I can play my best level I think I can do it."
"Wimbledon (where he has never escaped the second round) is the most important tournament of the year for me."
Del Potro has a modest history on the surface, playing just 11 times at the ATP level on the surface and coming away with six victories.
Mats Wilander rozmawia na antenie ES z Juanem Martinem del Potro, polecam. ;)
http://www.eurosport.pl/mats-wilander_b … full.shtml
Del Potro Makes Friends With Fellow Argentines At Benfica Football Club
Former World No. 4 Juan Martin del Potro took time out from his preparations for the Estoril Open on Monday to visit Benfica's Football Club's training ground in Lisbon.
Del Potro was presented with a Benfica shirt and met fellow Argentines and star players at the club, Javier Saviola, Pablo Aimar, Nicolas Gaitan and Franco Jara.
Del Potro, the tournament's eighth seed and 2009 US Open champion, is scheduled to meet Portuguese qualifier Pedro Sousa on Tuesday.
Benfica were crowned Taca de Portugal champions with a 2-1 victory over Pacos Ferreira at the weekend. The team is also in the UEFA Cup semi-finals.
How high can Del Potro climb?
It's been terrific, the way Juan Martin del Potro has come back from his nine-month injury lay-off and, for me, something of a surprise.
Some players are simply never the same after suffering such a severe wrist injury - the joint's not as strong as it was, and the time it takes to recover can really take its toll.
It also wears on the ambition of a player and, lest we forget, Del Potro is already a multimillionaire with a Grand Slam title to his credit.
Despite all these possible set-backs, however, it looks like the 22-year-old is as hungry as ever!
His rise this season has been impressive; reaching the semi-finals of Indian Wells and beating Robin Soderling in Miami - which was a huge result for him.
Things are looking good for the Del Potro at the moment. His ranking is up to 46, and I think that very soon he's going to be in the top 32 - which will mean he gets seeded for Slams.
Once he's in that position he'll be a heck of a prospect to reckon with on any surface.
Before his injury, the Argentine showed how dangerous he can be on clay.
He reached the French Open semi-finals in 2009 (losing to eventual champion Roger Federer), and he was in the top four in the world as recently as January last year.
He has so much power, and a pitbull-like attitude to competition.
Add to that the fact that he moves particularly well for such a big man (he's 6'6"), and it's not inconceivable that he could develop into a big, big threat this year.
His style isn't always particularly pleasing on the eye, and sometimes it's easy to underestimate the qualities of players like that - you don't get too many ‘ooh's and ‘aah's when Del Potro plays.
The shear power of his serve - and particularly his ferocious forehand - just breaks people down.
The one thing that concerns me about Del Potro's comeback, however, is that tennis has moved on since he was last at his peak.
Rafael Nadal is a better player now, and - despite going through a bit of a dip - the same can be said of Federer. As for Novak Djokovic, well, the Serb is considerably better than he was a year ago.
For that reason, I don't think that Del Potro will be able to break into the upper-echelons of the men's game - the top three.
I definitely see him getting back into the top 10, and possibly the top five, but after that I'm not so sure.
If he does get back to fourth, it will be a fantastic achievement in itself.
I'll certainly be looking out for him tomorrow, when he plays Soderling again in the Estoril Open quarter-finals.
The Swede is such a good clay-court player that a win for Del Potro would mean an awful lot, and it might just be a sign that he's going to go deep into Roland Garros.
I've said before that Nadal - despite failing to reach his peak on clay yet this season - is virtually untouchable on his favourite surface.
However, if Del Potro's graph continues to rise the way it has been doing so far this season, I can certainly see him as a possible threat to the Spaniard's clay-court dominance.
Rafa will see certainly be seeing him as a real threat, of that I'm sure.
#9) Estoril 2011
R32 Pedro Sousa (POR) 6-2 3-6, 6-3
R16 Alejandro Falla (COL) 6-2 6-1
Q Robin Soderling (SWE) 6-4 7-5
S Pablo Cuevas (URU) 6-2 7-6(6)
W Fernando Verdasco (ESP) 6-2 6-2
Del Potro withdraws from Madrid with hip injury
uan Martin del Potro has withdrawn from the Madrid Masters with a hip injury suffered in his opening-round match with Mikhail Youzhny. Del Potro defeated Marin Cilic on Wednesday and was scheduled to play Rafael Nadal in Thursday's night match. Nadal now advances to the quarterfinals, where he'll play either Michael Llodra or Daniel Gimeno-Traver.
Ponoć Juan Martin ma teraz wrócić do Argentyny w celu przejścia testów medycznych. :/
Argentyńczyk zaznaczył przy okazji wycofania, że ma doświadczenie w różnego rodzaju kontuzjach i stąd zdecydował, żeby dziś nie wychodzić na kort. Oczywiście zaznaczył, że ból w biodrze był "silny". Szkoda chłopaka.
Ehh, chłopak jest strasznie podatny na kontuzje, oby z wiekiem coraz lepiej z tym było, bo ma świetny charakter do sportu.
Del Potro out of Madrid Open with hip injury
MADRID (AP)—Juan Martin del Potro withdrew from the Madrid Open on Thursday with an injury that could force him to miss the French Open.
The former U.S. Open champion said a pain in his left hip forced him to pull out of Thursday’s third-round match with top-ranked Rafael Nadal.
“The pain is getting worse day-by-day so I didn’t want to risk it,” Del Potro said. “I have experience about injuries so I took the decision not to play.”
Del Potro first felt the pain on course to winning the Estoril Open on Sunday.
“Hopefully I can recover quickly and it’s nothing serious,” said Del Potro, who beat Marin Cilic in three sets Wednesday. “I won’t be in Rome and I don’t know if I’ll be able to play in Nice or Roland Garros.”
Del Potro, who called the pain “strong,” said he would travel back to Argentina to treat the problem, ruling him out of next week’s Rome Masters.
The 32nd-ranked Argentine had begun to find his form in 2011 after missing most of last year following wrist surgery. The 22-year-old was ranked No. 481 on Jan. 31 but wins at Delray Beach and Estoril seemed to put him in contention for upcoming Grand Slams.
“It’s not nice to have to withdraw from this tournament and this game which would have been nice to play but I’m not in shape,” Del Potro said. “I tried but I’m not in shape to play.”
French Open could be in doubt for injured Del Potro
The ATP comeback progress of Juan Del Potro has been stalled as the Argentine rushes home to have a hip problem examined by his doctors in Buenos Aires.
The 2009 US Open winner was unable to take to the court for his third-round match at the Madrid Masters with Rafael Nadal and now fears his clay season could be compromised.
With the French Open starting May 22, there are no guarantees that the 22-year-old, who missed most of 2010 recovering from wrist surgery, will be fit to take to the court.
"I will not play in Rome (from Sunday) and I don't know if I can play Nice or Roland Garros," said the the one-time Top five player who has worked his ranking from 484 to 32nd. Del Potro won the Estoril event last weekend and picked up his his hip problem there.
"It's a very annoying pain that I feel all the time," he said. "Not even heat treatment is making it feel better. I'm going home and hope to have a quick rehab. I've never had an injury like this. Maybe it comes from not playing on clay for so long (22 months)."
Niepewny występ del Potro w Paryżu.
Mistrz Us Open 2009 ma zwołać na środę konferencję prasową podczas której poinformuje, czy wystąpi na kortach Rolanda Garrosa.
Poniżej opis kontuzji DelPo. Medical English to nie jest moja mocna strona, jakby ktoś miał o tym jakieś większe pojęcie to proszę o wyjaśnienie. Wygląda to jednak bardziej na uraz jakiegoś mięśnia niż na biodro sensu stricto.
http://www.getbodysmart.com/ap/muscular … orial.html
Del Potro racing for fitness in time for French Open
There are serious doubts that injured Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro will heal a hip muscle tear in time to make a start at the French Open which is fast approaching with a start date of May 22.
Del Potro got the bad news when medical tests on his condition - first suffered during an Estoril semi-final match on April 30 - came back. He played in pain to win a title in Estoril but had to quit prior to his Madrid third-round match last week against Rafael Nadal.
The Argentine flew straight home to see his doctors only a few months after making a return to the ATP after missing the majority of last season as he recovered and rehabbed form right wrist surgery.
"I started rehab today (Monday) and will do everything possible to play in Paris," Del Potro said in a statement, "I want to do things calmly without hurry my return the circuit," adding that he would do "everything possible to be in Paris."
Del Potro reached the French Open semi-finals in 2009, his last appearance there, and rose into the world Top five with his 2009 US Open finals upset of Roger Federer.
DEL POTRO IN DOUBT FOR ROLAND GARROS
Juan Martin del Potro is in doubt for Roland Garros after he revealed that he had suffered an 8mm tear in his left hip muscle.
A PR agency representing del Potro released a statement saying: "It is still unknown how long it will take for del Potro to come back to the tour but he will most likely not make it to play the second Grand Slam of the season, Roland Garros."
Del Potro suffered the injury last week at the Mutua Madrid Masters, where he was forced to withdraw from the tournament before his scheduled third-round match with Rafael Nadal.
The 2009 US Open champion began rehabilitation Monday. Del Potro has slashed his South African Airways 2011 ATP Ranking from No. 485 to No. 31 after an impressive 27-6 start to the season, which has included titles in Estoril and Delray Beach.
Fellow Argentine David Nalbandian has also withdrawn from Roland Garros with a virus. The Associated Press quoted his spokesman, Bernardo Ballero, who said that the veteran is “not right physically”.
Del Potro ciągle wierzy w start na RG!
Argentyński tenisista powiedział na konferencji prasowej w Buenos Aires, ze jego uraz nie jest aż tak groźny, jak pierwotnie przypuszczano. Dodał, że cały czas ma "marzenie" o grze na kortach RG i jest w trakcie intensywnej rehabilitacji, która ma go przywrócić do pełni zdrowia.
Zdjęcie z konferencji:
Injured del Potro hopes to be fit for Roland Garros
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP)—Former U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro says he hopes to be fit for the French Open despite struggling with a hip injury.
The 22-year-old Del Potro has a muscle tear, which caused him to withdraw before a match against Rafael Nadal at the Madrid Open last week.
The Argentine player says the injury is “not too serious” and he still has the “dream” of playing in Paris when the tournament starts on May 22. Del Potro reached the semifinals in 2009, the same year he won at Flushing Meadow.
Del Potro has climbed back to No. 31 in the rankings after plummeting when he had to sit out much of last season with a wrist injury. Victories in Delray Beach and Estoril earlier this season suggested he would again be a contender in the Grand Slam tournaments.
Eh, co za padlina :/ Kontuzjogenny to on jest na maxa. Życzę mu jak najlepiej, ale tak to już chyba z nim będzie. Trochę pogra, zrobi formę, coś tam wygra, potem znowu kontuzja i tak przewijaj...
Bizon napisał:
Trochę pogra, zrobi formę, coś tam wygra, potem znowu kontuzja i tak przewijaj...
Tak sobie pomyślałem, że on może naprawdę nieźle się obłowić w tych mniejszych turniejach. 2 zwycięstwa w tym roku, gdzie jak wiosną doszedł do przyzwoitej formy to w takim Estoril nie miał w zasadzie żadnej konkurencji. Dobrze, że po tej paskudnej kontuzji nadgarstka jego licznik turniejowy ciągle bije. ;)
Są jakieś nowe wieści na temat zdrowia JMDP?
Bizon napisał:
Są jakieś nowe wieści na temat zdrowia JMDP?
Cały czas nie ma decyzji.
Juan Martin del Potro 'not certain' to feature at the French Open
World number 31 Juan Martin Del Potro will make a decision this week as to whether he will be fit enough to take part in the French Open, which gets under way in Paris later this month, following a hip injury sustained playing in the Madrid Masters.
The Argentinian, whose only grand slam title came two years ago at the US Open at Flushing Meadows, was absent from the circuit for the majority of 2010 after injuring his wrist and only made his long-awaited comeback earlier this year, before suffering this new problem in Spain.
"I'm not certain to be in Paris," said the 22 year old, whose best performance at Roland Garros came in 2009 when he reached the semi-finals, before losing in five sets to Roger Federer.
"I'll have tests in the first days of next week to see if I can play five sets on clay".
Juan Martin Del Potro zagra na Roland Garros. ;)
French Open - Del Potro will make French Open
Juan Martin del Potro has confirmed he will play at the French Open starting this weekend.
"It's a lot of effort, but we're getting there. See you in Paris," Del Potro said on Twitter, his preferred means of communicating with reporters and friends.
The 22-year-old former world number four, who won the US Open in 2009, has been recovering from a torn hip muscle that forced him to withdraw from the Madrid Masters tournament earlier this month.
Del Potro, ranked 27th in the world, said eight days ago he would make every effort to get to Roland Garros. He has made a comeback this year after missing most of last season with a wrist injury that required surgery.
Reuters
Del Potro Overcomes Setback, Ready For Paris
Juan Martin del Potro will play at Roland Garros after overcoming a setback to his hip. The Argentine revealed the news on his Twitter account, tweeting, “With big effort, we made it. See you in Paris!”
A semi-finalist at Roland Garros in 2009, del Potro believed he would miss the year’s second major after sustaining an 8mm tear in his left hip muscle at the Mutua Madrid Open. He had felt pain at the Estoril Open, but continued playing in Portugal, taking home his second title of 2011 after defeating Fernando Verdasco in the final. The injury worsened in Madrid, and the Argentine was forced to withdraw prior to a much anticipated duel with World No. 1 Rafael Nadal.
Since being ranked No. 485 on 31 January, the former US Open champion has climbed 458 places to No. 27.
RG 2011 - konferencja po zwycięstwie w 1 rundzie
http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/multi … 0009f.html
Odpadł z RG w 3 rundzie z Djoko. Mecz zaczął się w piątek i skończył po dwóch setach z powodu zapadających ciemności. Del Potro grał naprawdę dobrze. Wymiany były długie i ostre. W sobotę niestety był już cieniem samego siebie.
Ładny początek... Tutaj obowiązują pewne zasady, w tym poprawna pisownia. Następne takie posty nie będą tolerowane. / jaccol
RG 2011 - konferencja po porażce w 3 rundzie.
http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/multi … 00192.html
Wimbledon 2011 - wywiad po zwycięstwie w 1 rundzie
J.M del Potro bt F. Cipolla 6 4, 6 1, 6 3
Q. Are you satisfied with your game today, and is there more to come?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Yes. I think for be my first match since 2009 on grass, it's okay. I can play better. I need to improve many things if I want to still alive in the tournament.
But for start, is a nice match.
Q. Was it tough or...
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Yes. He's very fast. He made many slices, dropshots. I'm not top player, so sometimes is going to be difficult. But I served really well today, and I feel confidence with my game.
Q. How does it feel being back at Wimbledon after the two year gap?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Really nice. I miss all the tournaments. This one is one of the best of the world. And I came here many days before for be ready for this tournament, trying to learn on grass. Need to improve my volley, my serve, everything.
If not this year, maybe the next one. But I'm trying.
Q. Did the rain break disrupt you a lot yesterday?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: No, no, no. We are professional. Here in London, everything with the weather can happen. But we want to play in every way in every surface, and we are here for that.
Q. Is it fair to say that you looked a bit nervous today?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Today? You think so?
Q. Yes, I think so.
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Maybe. Maybe, because he's very dangerous. But I was focused with my serve. Here on grass, if you have a good serve, take your chance, you have many opportunities to win.
Wimbledon 2011 - wywiad po zwycięstwie w 2 rundzie
J. del Potro bt. O. Rochus 6 7, 6 1, 6 0, 6 4
Q. What is your feeling today after this match?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: I'm feeling better than yesterday. I think today was better match for me. I play really aggressive during all the match and I take all my opportunities to be a quick match.
So that's important for my next round because I don't have a day off this week. I playing since Monday to tomorrow. So will be difficult.
But I hope be ready for fight.
Q. How do you explain the difference between yesterday and today?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: I don't know. Just I had a little bad luck. I have set points, and he play really well. And today I'm still trying, serving well. I was more aggressive with my returns. All my breakpoints I played more aggressive than yesterday and I closed the match easy, no?
Q. In which shape are you? No problem physically?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Yes, I'm getting better. Slowly, but I'm getting better.
Q. Slowly, what?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: It's not easy play a Grand Slam, play this Grand Slam since 2009. I will play tomorrow again. Hopefully be in good shape for play Simon, he's really nice player. He has a lot of talent, so will be difficult.
Q. You met twice.
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Yeah.
Q. A very long match at the US Open.
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: At the US Open. He play really, really good. We just play on exhibition last week. But, you know, tomorrow will be a good match for both. So I want to be focused, to be ready for play good tennis.
Q. You hit 75 winners today and yesterday.
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: How many?
Q. 75. You must be pleased with that statistic.
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Yeah. Looking here I played 30 aces, too. It's a nice number. But hopefully be the same tomorrow. I will need all my weapons: my serve, my volleys, my forehand, if I want to stay alive in the tournament.
Q. Do you think that's the key for you on grass?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Yeah, I think so. If you have nice serve and you play focus all the points, you have chance to play a good game. I don't know if you gonna win or lose, but you will have any chance for sure.
Q. How many double faults did you have?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Three.
Q. It seems players are double faulting less than before. Why do you think that is?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: I'm thinking I made my first double fault in the tiebreak, so it's a bad moment for make a double fault. So I will change that for tomorrow.
Q. But in general, people are hitting fewer double faults. Why do you think that is?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: I don't know. Well, you have to give your serve whatever you can. If you play against good return players, is better if you be more aggressive with your first and second serve. I think that's the reason.
Q. But that would mean you might make more double faults.
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Yeah. Hopefully not. But I will think about you if I make a double fault.
Q. Can you tell us a bit about the shoes.
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: The shoes? I don't know. Was to the crowd.
Q. Was it losing the set or was it stopping the match?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: I lost the set. Once again I stop a match for another day. I think the crowd was, until the last point with cold, windy, rain, so was a good idea for them.
Q. Did the crowd ask for your shoes? Have you ever given your shoes before?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: No, the first time. After the match, I saw the kid with my shoes and I sign for him.
Q. Did you walk back to the locker room in your bare feet?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: My socks.
Q. Is playing on grass easier for your body than hard courts, maybe even than clay?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: No, it's really difficult for my physically and for my game playing here on grass. But this year I'm here for learn, for improve my serve and volleys.
And after French, I came here for practice a lot, every day. If I have a good result, it's better. But if I not, it's a good moment for improve my game here and for be ready for the next years.
Q. What parts of your body does it hurt?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Well, after a match, every part hurts. But we have a good physios, good massages, and I will try to be in good shape for tomorrow.
Wimbledon 2011 - wywiad po zwycięstwie w 3 rundzie
J. del Potro bt. G. Simon 7 6, 7 6, 7 5
Q. How are you feeling about facing Rafa?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: First I feel glad to beat Simon. Of course on Monday I play against the best player in the world in this moment. It will be a big challenge.
But I want to enjoy first my victory of today, and then I will see if I can be in good shape for play against Rafa.
Q. What do you think you will need to do well?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Well, against them, you should play unbelievable tennis. You should play everything perfect, and then maybe you have a little chance.
But I don't know. Gonna be very tough for me. My first time in fourth round in Wimbledon. I want to treasure this moment.
Q. But you beat him in the US Open a couple years ago. Tell us how you managed to beat him. What was the difference between you and him?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: I don't know. It was two years ago. We play this year in Indian Wells. He won really easy. I don't know if I'm still far away from that level.
But he's the No. 1. He will be the big favourite for the next match. Of course, playing fourth round, all the players are tough.
But I want to be ready for that match. I don't know if I will have a little chance or not, but I will try to make a good game.
Q. Despite your ranking, Rafa actually said you're playing like a top five player. Do you feel like that or do you feel you need a little while before you're back at that level?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: It's not easy be top five. But I'm improving my game every day. That's a good signal for the future. I am still learning on grass. I want to improve my serve, my volley. And maybe for the second part of the year I can be ready for play against all the players at same conditions.
But, of course, I want to be at the top as soon as possible. But it's a long, long road.
Q. What kind of a breakthrough do you think this is for you to reach this round at Wimbledon? Since your injury, this will be the first slam where you've reached the second week.
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Well, after two years, I came here once again and I am playing more aggressive than 2009 when I lost against Hewitt. And now is my first time in the fourth round. I beat many good players on grass. I beat Rochus and Simon today in three sets. It's very good for my tennis, for my confidence.
But playing on grass, for the South American players, is not easy, you know, but we will try.
Q. Have you played Centre Court before here?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Yes. I played against Federer and Hewitt, I think.
Q. What are your memories of that arena?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Well, it's a nice atmosphere. The fans are really nice. They will be cheering I think little more for Rafa than for me. But I will enjoy the match and trying to be a nice game for me and for the crowd, too.
Q. Physically having played every day this week, how are you feeling?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Finally I will have a day off tomorrow, and I will need it, because I will play against Rafa and you need to be 100%.
Q. How has it felt playing six days in a row at a slam?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: No, well, I think I had bad luck this week. Is not usual play all days from Monday to Saturday. But sometimes can happen. Hopefully for the next week, the weather help me a little more.
But playing here in Wimbledon, it's really nice. I just want to play whatever, every day if I can.
Q. How are you going to spend your first day off now?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Yeah, I don't know. Of course, I will get up not too early for first thing and then I will practice little bit and take a rest for Monday.
Q. Do you have a favorite part of London? Have you visited London much?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Not too much because I play all days.
Q. When you came at the O2?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: It's a beautiful city. The week before Queen's we walk around the Big Ben, that area, it's really nice.