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| Country |  Argentina |
|
|---|---|---|
| Residence | Tandil, Argentina | |
| Date of birth | September 23, 1988 | |
| Place of birth | Tandil, Argentina | |
| Height | 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) | |
| Weight | 83 kg (180 lb) | |
| Turned pro | 2005 | |
| Plays | Right-handed; two-handed backhand | |
| Career prize money | US$3,107,021 | |
| Singles | ||
| Career record | 116–62 | |
| Career titles | 5 | |
| Highest ranking | No. 5 (April 6, 2009) | |
| Grand Slam results | ||
| Australian Open | QF (2009) | |
| French Open | SF (2009) | |
| Wimbledon | 2R (2007, 2008, 2009) | |
| US Open | QF (2008) | |
| Major tournaments | ||
| Tour Finals | RR (2008) | |
| Doubles | ||
| Career record | 20–18 | |
| Career titles | 1 | |
| Highest ranking | No. 105 (May 25, 2009) | |
| Grand Slam Doubles results | ||
| Australian Open | – | |
| French Open | 1R (2006, 2007) | |
| Wimbledon | 1R (2007, 2008) | |
| US Open | – | |
| Last updated on: June 8, 2009. | ||
Juan Martín del Potro (born September 23, 1988 in Tandil) is an Argentine professional tennis player who is the highest-ranked Argentine and the 5th-ranked player in the world.[1] Del Potro achieved a top 10 ranking by the Association of Tennis Professionals for the first time on October 6, 2008. In April 2009, he reached a career-high ranking of World No. 5.
In August 2008, he became the first player in ATP history to win his first four career titles in as many tournaments.[2] He also completed the second longest winning streak in 2008, and the second longest by a teenager in the open era, behind Rafael Nadal — with his winning sequence spanning 23 matches over five tournaments.[2]
Contents |
Early life
Del Potro was born in Tandil, Argentina. His father Daniel Del Potro, played semi-pro rugby union in Argentina and is a veterinarian. His mother Patricia, is a teacher. He has a younger sister named Julieta. Del Potro speaks Spanish, Italian, and English. Aside from tennis, he enjoys playing football (soccer) and supports the Boca Juniors team in Argentina and Juventus in Italy.
He began playing tennis at age seven, with his childhood idol being Pete Sampras. He also admires tennis pros Marat Safin and Lleyton Hewitt.
Del Potro’s talent was very early discovered by Italian ex-tennis pro, Ugo Colombini, who accompanied him through the difficult initial phases of his young career, and is still today his agent and close friend.
Tennis career
2003
At the age of 14, Del Potro received wildcards to three ITF Circuit events in Argentina, where he lost in the first round of each.
2004
In 2004, Del Potro won his first professional match, at the age of 15, at the ITF Circuit event in Buenos Aires by defeating Matias Niemiz, he then went on to lose in the second round. Later that year, Del Potro reached the quarterfinals of the ITF Circuit event in Campinas, Brazil. He also reached the finals in the Argentina Cup and Campionati Internazionali D'Italia Junior tournaments.
2005
Del Potro began the year by reaching the finals of the ITF Junior Circuit called "Copa del Café" (Coffee Bowl) in Costa Rica, which he lost to Robin Haase. He was a crowd favorite and was widely known for his short temper.
He went on to reach the quarterfinals of the ITF Circuit event in El Salvador. At the age of 16, he reached his second professional singles final at the International Casablanca Cup in Mexico where he lost to Darko Madjarovski. He also won consecutive titles at two Junior ITF Circuit events in Santiago, Chile, including the 26th International Junior tournament. He won his third title in his home country by defeating Damian Patriarca at the ITF Circuit event in Cordoba, Argentina.
After turning pro later that year, he reached the final of the Campos do Jordao Challenger in Brazil where he lost to André Sá. At age 17, he won the Montevideo Challenger by defeating Boris Pašanski in the finals. That same year, he also attempted to qualify for his first Grand Slam at the US Open. After ending 2005 ranked #1,077 in the world, Del Potro jumped over 900 positions, largely due to winning three Futures tournaments.
2006
In February, Del Potro played his first ATP tour event in Viña del Mar where he defeated Albert Portas in the first round before losing to Fernando González in the second round. Later, he won the Aguascalientes Challenger by defeating Sergio Roitman in the final.
Del potro qualified for the main draw of his first Grand Slam in the 2006 French Open, at the age of 17, where he lost in the opening round to former French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero. Later that year, he reached the quarterfinals of the ATP event in Umag, Croatia where he lost to the eventual champion, Stanislas Wawrinka. In Spain, he won the Segovia Challenger by defeating Benjamin Becker in the finals.
Del Potro qualified for his first US Open in 2006, where he lost in the first round to Alejandro Falla. He went on to qualify for his first ATP Masters Series tournament in Spain where he lost in the first round to Joachim Johansson. Having received an invitation, thanks to Roger Federer, he reached the quarterfinals of the 2006 Davidoff Swiss Indoors in Basel, Switzerland where he lost to the eventual runner-up Fernando González.
2007
Del Potro began the year by reaching his first semifinal in ATP Adelaide, Australia, where he lost to Chris Guccione. He would then reach the second round of the Australian Open where he had to retire in his match against Fernando González in the fifth set.
On February 11, Del Potro played for Argentina at the first round of the Davis Cup against Austria winning the 4th and definite rubber, giving Argentina the classification for the quarterfinals.
He reached the second round of the Pacific Life Open and went on to reach the fourth round of the Sony Ericsson Open where he defeated Jonas Björkman, Marcos Baghdatis, and Mikhail Youzhny before falling to Rafael Nadal. In May, he lost in the first round of the French Open to eventual champion, Rafael Nadal.
In his first grass court event, Del Potro reached the second round at Queen's Club where he lost to Rafael Nadal. He also reached the quarterfinals in Nottingham the following week where he lost to Croatian, Ivo Karlović. At his inaugural Wimbledon, he defeated Davide Sanguinetti in the first round before losing to eventual champion Roger Federer in the second round.
Del Potro qualified for the ATP Masters Series event in Cincinnati where he reached the third round before losing to Carlos Moya. He partnered with Travis Parrott to win the doubles title at the ATP event in Indianapolis. At the US Open, he defeated Nicolas Mahut and Jürgen Melzer before losing to eventual finalist Novak Đoković in the third round in straight sets. He also reached the third round of the Madrid Masters before losing to eventual champion David Nalbandian.
2008
The Argentine enjoyed his best season to date in 2008, winning four titles and finishing in the Top 10 for the first time. He also finished as the country's number one player and the highest ranked South American, ahead of David Nalbandian. Del Potro started the season, losing in the first round in Adelaide to Michael Russel and then made it to the second round of the Australian Open in January, retiring in his match against David Ferrer due to an injury. Del Potro returned to the circuit in March, winning his first match against Jesse Levine, 7–5, 6–1 at the Sony Ericsson Open. In June, he reached the semi-finals of the Ordina Open, losing to eventual winner David Ferrer in straight sets.
After losing in the second round of Wimbledon, an outstanding summer followed for the Argentine. Del Potro won his first career ATP tour title at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, defeating Richard Gasquet in straight sets in the final[3]. A week later, Del Potro reached his second career ATP Tour final at the Austrian Open in Kitzbühel, where he beat local hope and sixth seed Jürgen Melzer 6–2, 6–1, in less than an hour, to claim his second title in two weeks. He won his third consecutive title at the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles, beating Andy Roddick in 6–1, 7–6(2) in the final. A fourth consecutive title followed a week later in the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington D.C., where he recorded a 6–3, 6–3 victory over Viktor Troicki, becoming the first player in ATP history to win his first four career titles in as many tournaments.[2]
At the 2008 US Open, del Potro progressed to the third round, where he won his first match to five sets in the circuit against Gilles Simon to reach the last 16. He went on to defeat Nishikori in straight sets. In the quarterfinals, he was stopped by Andy Murray, losing in four tight sets after almost four hours. By reaching the quarterfinals, he achieved a career best result at a Grand Slam. He was defeated after 23 consecutive victories: the second longest winning streak in 2008, the second longest by a teenager in the open era, and the third best among Argentine players in history.[2][4]
He was selected to play the Davis Cup tie between Argentina and Russia, which took place on September 19–21. He won his first singles match against Nikolay Davydenko in three sets 6–1, 6–4, 6–2. He also won the fifth and deciding match against Igor Andreev in straight sets 6–4, 6–2, 6–1, booking Argentina a place in the final.
At the AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships, he made the final by defeating number 11 seed Jarkko Nieminen, number one seed and defending champion David Ferrer, and number four seed Richard Gasquet. He was defeated by Tomáš Berdych 6–1, 6–4 in the final. After the match, both Berdych and del Potro commented that he was not playing his best tennis.[5]
At the Madrid Masters he lost in the quarterfinals in straight sets to Roger Federer. He reached the semifinals of his next tournament, the Davidoff Swiss Indoors, before losing to countryman David Nalbandian,[6] and was beaten by Nalbandian again, in the second round of the Paris Masters. This left del Potro's qualification for the Tennis Masters Cup out of his hands; fortunately for him, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat James Blake in the semifinals, which was enough to ensure his place at the year-end event.[7]
Del Potro won one match at the Masters Cup, against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, but lost his other two matches, against the higher ranked Novak Djokovic and Nikolay Davydenko, meaning that he exited the tournament in the round robin stage. This was his last event of the year on the ATP Tour. He went on to lose one rubber in the Davis Cup final, against Feliciano Lopez, as his team succumbed to a 3–1 loss against Spain. He was forced to withdraw from his second match due to a thigh injury.[8]
2009
At the Heineken Open in Auckland, New Zealand, Del Potro was the top seed for the tournament. He defeated American Sam Querrey in the final 6–4, 6–4 to win the title, the fifth of his career.[9] Seeded eighth at the Australian Open, Del Potro lost in straight sets to Roger Federer in the quarterfinals 6–3, 6–0, 6–0.[10]
At the BNP Paribas Open, as the sixth seed Del Potro advanced to the quarterfinals, where he was eventually defeated by world no.1 Rafael Nadal 6–2, 6–4. Del Potro avenged that loss the following week at the Sony Ericsson Open, where he came back from a double break down in the third set at 0–3 to defeat Nadal in the quarterfinals 6–4, 3–6, 7–6(3). This was the first time Del Potro had defeated Nadal. Despite a 6–1, 5–7, 6–2 loss in the semi-finals to Andy Murray, Del Potro gained enough ranking points to reach a career high of world no 5.
In the clay court season, Del Potro was eliminated in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters by Ivan Ljubicic. In Rome, Del Potro advanced to the quarterfinals where he was defeated by defending champion Novak Djokovic in straight sets. Del Potro then played at the 2009 Madrid Masters. He was defeated by Roger Federer in the semi-finals 3-6, 4-6 after defeating Andy Murray in the quarter-finals for the first time.
At the French Open, Del Potro defeated Michael Llodra, Viktor Troicki, Igor Andreev, and the #9 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga en route to the quarterfinals. He then defeated 3-time former quarterfinalist Tommy Robredo to get to his first semi-final. He was defeated in a close semi-final 3–6, 7–6 (7-2), 2–6, 6–1, 6–4, by eventual champion Roger Federer. Prior to this encounter, Del Potro had never taken a set off Federer in their 5 previous career meetings.[11]
At the 2009 Wimbledon Championships, his poor grass court form continued, going down to unseeded Lleyton Hewitt 6–3 7–5 7–5 in the second round.[12]
Playing Style
Del Potro is primarily an offensive baseliner with a powerful first serve and solid groundstrokes. His forehand is the more powerful shot but also the less reliable, as his backhand is much more consistent. Del Potro is also considered one of the best movers on the ATP tour able to move efficiently on different contrasting surfaces like clay and hard courts despite his height. Del Potro's height allows him to get a powerful first serve, and not be bothered by high topspin from the likes of Nadal. Del Potro's best surfaces are hard and clay, but his game is suited to all surfaces. He has yet to make a major breakthrough on grass.[citation needed] Del Potro's second serve also has power, allowing him to get out of tight situations.
Equipment and apparel
Del Potro currently uses the Wilson (K)Factor (K)Six-One 95 Racquet, and is sponsored by Nike.
Grand Slam final (0)
ATP Tour finals (7)
Singles (6)
Win (5)
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| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in Final | Score |
| 1. | 13 July, 2008 | Stuttgart, Germany | Clay |  Richard Gasquet |
6–4, 7–5 |
| 2. | 20 July, 2008 | Kitzbühel, Austria | Clay |  Jürgen Melzer |
6–2, 6–1 |
| 3. | 10 August, 2008 | Los Angeles, United States | Hard |  Andy Roddick |
6–1, 7–6(2) |
| 4. | 17 August, 2008 | Washington, D.C., U.S. | Hard |  Viktor Troicki |
6–3, 6–3 |
| 5. | 17 January, 2009 | Auckland, New Zealand | Hard | Sam Querrey |
6–4, 6–4 |
Runner-ups (1)
| Grand Slam tournaments (0) |
| ATP World Tour Finals (0) |
| ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0) |
| ATP World Tour 500 Series (1) |
| ATP World Tour 250 Series (0) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score |
| 1. | 5 October, 2008 | Tokyo, Japan | Hard |  Tomáš Berdych |
6–1, 6–4 |
Doubles (1)
Win (1)
| Legend (pre/post 2009) |
| ATP World Tour 250 Series (1) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents in Final | Score |
| 1. | 30 July, 2007 | Indianapolis, United States | Hard | Travis Parrott |
 Teimuraz Gabashvili Ivo Karlović |
3–6, 6–2, 10–6 |
Singles performance timeline
To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only after a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded. This table is current through the 2009 Madrid Masters, which concluded on May 17, 2009.
| Tournament | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | Career W-L | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam Tournaments | |||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | A | 2R | 2R | QF | 6–3 | |||||||
| French Open | A | 1R | 1R | 2R | SF | 6–4 | |||||||
| Wimbledon | A | A | 2R | 2R | 2R | 3–3 | |||||||
| US Open | A | 1R | 3R | QF | 6–3 | ||||||||
| Win-Loss | 0–0 | 0–2 | 4–4 | 7–4 | 10–3 | 21–13 | |||||||
| Year-End Championship | |||||||||||||
| Tennis Masters Cup | A | A | A | RR | 1–2 | ||||||||
| Olympic Games | |||||||||||||
| Summer Olympics | Not Held | A | NH | 0–0 | |||||||||
| ATP Masters 1000 | |||||||||||||
| Indian Wells Masters | A | A | 2R | A | QF | 4–2 | |||||||
| Miami Masters | A | A | 4R | 2R | SF | 8–3 | |||||||
| Monte Carlo Masters | A | A | A | A | 2R | 0–1 | |||||||
| Rome Masters | A | A | A | 1R | QF | 2–2 | |||||||
| Madrid Masters | A | 1R | 3R | QF | SF | 9–4 | |||||||
| Canada Masters | A | A | 1R | A | 0–1 | ||||||||
| Cincinnati Masters | A | A | 3R | A | 2–1 | ||||||||
| Shanghai Masters | Not Masters Series | 0–0 | |||||||||||
| Paris Masters | A | A | 2R | 3R | 2–2 | ||||||||
| Hamburg Masters | A | A | A | A | NM1 | 0–0 | |||||||
| Career Statistics | |||||||||||||
| ATP Finals Reached | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 6 | |||||||
| ATP Tournaments Won | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 5 | |||||||
| Year End Ranking | 157 | 92 | 44 | 9 | 103–59 | ||||||||
Walkovers are neither official wins nor official losses. To help interpret the performance table, the legend below explains what each abbreviation and color coded box represents in the performance timeline.
| Terms to know | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| SR | the ratio of the number of singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played |
W-L | player's Win-Loss record |
| Performance Table Legend | |||
| NH | tournament not held in that calendar year | A | did not participate in the tournament |
| LQ | lost in qualifying draw | #R | lost in the early rounds of the tournament (RR = round robin) |
| QF | advanced to but not past the quarterfinals | SF | advanced to but not past the semifinals |
| F | advanced to the final, tournament runner-up | W | won the tournament |
| NMS | means an event that was not an ATP Masters Series tournament. | |||
| NM1 | means an event that was not an ATP Masters 1000 tournament. | |||
References
- ^ "ATP World Tour Rankings". http://www.atpworldtour.com/tennis/3/en/rankings/default.asp.
- ^ a b c d "Del Potro Captures Fourth Straight ATP Title". 2008-08-17. http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2008/08/washingtonsunday.aspx. Retrieved on 2008-08-28.
- ^ "Del Potro Captures First ATP Title". 2008-07-13. http://www.atptennis.com/1/en/2008news/stuttgart_sunday.asp. Retrieved on 2008-07-13.
- ^ "Del Potro on 23-match winning streak at US Open". 2008-09-02. http://www.sportsline.com/tennis/story/10957949. Retrieved on 2008-09-04.
- ^ "Berdych blasts Del Potro to win Tokyo tournament". 2008-10-05. http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=tennis-m/news/news.aspx?id=4183690. Retrieved on 2008-10-05.
- ^ "Federer eases past Lopez in Basel". BBC Sport. 2008-10-26. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/7691195.stm.
- ^ BBC Sport (2008-11-01). "Nalbandian faces Tsonga showdown". http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/7704210.stm. Retrieved on 2008-11-06.
- ^ Associated Press (2008-11-23). "Del Potro withdraws from Davis Cup". The Globe and Mail. http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081123.wspt_argentina23/GSStory/GlobeSportsOther/home. Retrieved on 2008-11-23.
- ^ Juan Martin Del Potro Dumps Sam Querrey ESPN.com, January 15, 2009
- ^ "Federer to face Roddick in semis". BBC Sport. 2009-01-27. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/7852671.stm. Retrieved on 2009-01-29.
- ^ "Head to head player details, Federer, Roger - Del Potro, Juan Martin". http://www.atpworldtour.com/tennis/3/en/players/headtohead/default.asp?player1=Federer%2C+Roger&player2=Del+Potro.
- ^ "Hewitt stuns fifth seed Del Potro". BBC Sport. 2009-06-25. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/8118982.stm. Retrieved on 2009-06-25.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Juan Martín del Potro |
- Juan Martín del Potro at the Association of Tennis Professionals
- Juan Martin Del Potro online - unofficial fansite dedicated to the young Argentine champion
- Juan Martin del Potro Blog The best info and photos. (Spanish)
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