Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Crowd-pleaser del Potro grateful for health
DELRAY BEACH — The “most beloved man in tennis” is appreciative of the adulation he receives everywhere he plays, whether in his native Argentina, the U.S. Open in New York or this week at the Delray Beach Open.
Juan Martin del Potro is most grateful, though, merely to be playing again in all of those places at a high level after injuries to both wrists derailed and nearly curtailed his career.
The affable Argentinian, who makes his 2017 debut here Tuesday on the stadium court against Kevin Anderson, is hopeful the tournament he won in 2011 will serve to launch another healthy, prosperous run as it did last year.
Reaching the semifinals at Delray Beach Tennis Center was the first step back after missing the better part of two years to multiple wrist surgeries.
That encouraging result led to a magical year that saw him win his first title in 33 months (Stockholm Open), post upsets over rankings headliners Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal, claim the silver medal in the Rio Olympics and culminate in leading Argentina to its first Davis Cup team title.
“I’m feeling so glad to start the year in this tournament. That means something special to me after the great comeback last year,” del Potro said Monday.
“I’m healthy at the moment. I just want to play tennis whenever I can, wherever I can. It’s a pleasure to come here in this tournament when Argentina fans come to watch me, with many Latino-American people coming to watch my game.”
Del Potro, 28, has spoken of Delray Beach as feeling like a hometown tournament. He has frequently expressed similar sentiment at events on any of several continents. It is due to a remarkable popularity he has enjoyed even before the Olympic medal and the Davis Cup conquest.
An article in the Wall Street Journal last August anointed him with the “most beloved” label. He is often referred to as a gentle giant, a soft-spoken, 6-foot-6 force popular with his peers and fans, young and old alike.
John Isner, one of the top American players, last year said of del Potro, “He’s just a big chill dude and doesn’t seem to have a worry in the world.”
That is a more apt description now that the wrists are holding up and allowing him to pound his two-handed backhand, which he mixes with a one-handed slice that he relied on here last year but now mixes in for a different look.
“I think the people recognize my effort to come back in tennis after all my problems, and that means something special,” del Potro said. “Because I came here with my bad back last year and nobody cared if I win a match or not. They just wanted me to play tennis again, and I did.
“Now after beating [Nadal] and [Djokovic] at the Olympics, I think that the tennis people started to believe more in my game. I always [am] respectful with all the guys on tour, with the fans as well, and I think everybody loves that.”
Del Potro is even on good terms with Pope Francis, who blessed his rosary beads. A devout Catholic, he gave his papal countryman a tennis racket.
They never exchanged volleys on the court — “I think he’s got more important things [to do]” — and the blessing didn’t solve del Potro’s problems. That was in the middle of the five-year injury odyssey. The rosary beads were later stolen when he was mugged on a train in Europe.
Considering all of the travails, it is understandable when he said, “Just to be playing tennis again is so good for me and I don’t care if I win or I lose the match because God gave me a chance to come back in tennis, and I am so glad for that.”
Today will be del Potro’s first match in competition since his rally from a two-set deficit against Marin Cilic in the Davis Cup final in November. Seeded No. 7 here in the ATP World Tour event, he draws a challenging opening assignment against Anderson, the 6-foot-8 South African who won the 2012 title here.
Del Potro skipped the Australian Open to recover from the exhausting Davis Cup effort and is eager to continue a comeback he hopes will lead back to a top-10 ranking (he finished 2016 ranked 38th; has been as high as No. 4 in 2010).
“It’s a special tournament for me, so I think I made a good decision to come here. We’ll see if I can play good tennis,” said del Potro, who can expect plenty of cheers either way.
Easy for Querrey
American Sam Querrey had an easy opener in defense of his 2016 title when Dudi Sela retired early in the second set with a back strain. Querrey was leading 6-2, 2-1.
“I feel bad for Dudi. He’s a nice guy. But I’ll take extra rest. I’ve been playing a lot of singles, a lot of doubles,” said Querrey, who is also coming off a notable 2016.
Following the Delray win, Querrey’s season peaked with an upset of Djokovic at Wimbledon, where he became the first American to reach the quarterfinals of any major tournament since 2011.
“I’m not really taking much confidence from that into this year. I feel like it’s kind of a fresh start, and I want to make some more memories like that,” he said.
In another early match, American Bjorn Fratangelo, of Orlando, got off to a strong start but came up short in a 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 loss to China’s Yen-Hsun Lu.