No.5 seed can challenge big two
Ten years since Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal contested their most magical Wimbledon final, much talk still centres on who can challenge those superstars as they retain their hold atop the rankings.
You’d do worse than to pencil in Juan Martin del Potro.
The rejuvenated fan favourite is assembling a season of remarkable rejuvenation, defeating Federer to win at Indian Wells, a semi-finalist at Roland-Garros and quietly restored to his former world No.4 ranking.
And as he easily moved past Feliciano Lopez with a dominant 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 victory to progress to Wimbledon’s third round for the fifth time in his career, there was every sign that the 2009 US Open champion is targeting a return to the Grand Slam winners’ circle.
Doing so at Wimbledon would admittedly have an against-the-odds feel to it. For the second straight year Del Potro arrived at SW19 without a grass court event contested – and with no Argentine claiming a title on the surface since 1995, the No.5 seed hasn’t managed it either.
But obstacles are something he is well proven at managing. In an injury-affected career Del Potro has returned from a series of wrist surgeries – four between 2014 and 2016 – to regain his former authority.
Record-breaker Lopez
There was another potential obstacle as Del Potro faced Lopez, one of the most enduring men on tour. Contesting a record-breaking 66th consecutive Grand Slam this Wimbledon, Lopez has reached three of his four quarter-finals at the All England Club, and achieved three of six career titles on this surface.
In this highly-anticipated encounter, Del Potro needed his best tennis – and that’s exactly what he delivered as he defeated the Spaniard in an hour and 36 minutes.
From the first point to the last on No.1 Court, Del Potro was simply brilliant. He hit 23 winners to only five unforced errors, his dominance further underlined by 13 aces and just one double fault.
If there were glimpses of the grass court form that had delivered the serve-volleying Lopez his best Grand Slam results at SW19, they were fleeting. The serve has traditionally been one of the Spaniard’s most helpful weapons, but with Del Potro converting the first of his six service breaks in the fourth game, a pattern was firmly established.
While Del Potro claimed every point on serve in the 24-minute second set, Lopez held serve just once. Although he was treated for a shoulder complaint early in the third set, the Argentine soon closed out his fifth win over Lopez in an undeniably statement performance.
“I played my best game today,” Del Potro agreed. “I was focused all the time since the beginning of the match to the last point of the game. I took all my break point chances and I think that was the key.”
Victory evoked semi-final year
It was a victory that reminded many of Del Potro’s career-best semi final run in 2013, when his five-set battle against Novak Djokovic spanned a record four hours and 43 minutes. But as others consider the possibility of him replicating or even improving on that result, the Argentine is looking ahead conservatively.
“Honestly I'm not thinking too much about that,” he said, explaining that his third round match against the “tricky” Benoit Paire is for now his biggest priority.
“I'm going match by match,” Del Potro insisted. “My first goal of this tournament is trying to get in the second week. I'm having a big chance if I beat Benoit after tomorrow. But I know how tough is going to be my match as well.
“I will try to play even better than today. If my serve is works good and my forehand is works good, I will try to have little chance to win.”
