Triumph, disaster, and lots and lots of injuries: The incredible career of Juan Martin Del Potro

Updated 28/08/2016 at 08:41 GMT

Argentine superstar Juan Martin del Potro has had more ups and downs than the lifts at the Empire State Building. We take a look back at his extraordinary career.

Juan Martin Del Potro after winning the final of the US Open in 2009, against Roger Federer.

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October 2006 – Makes last 16 of ATP Tokyo, losing a tough-fought match to Tim Henman, entering world's top 100 for first time when the new rankings are revealed

Argentina's Potro plays a shot to Britain's Henman during their third round match at the Japan Open in 2006

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July 2008 – Wins first ever tournament, the Stuttgart Open, beating Richard Gasquet in the final… then follows it up a week later by claiming the Austrian Open, and two more titles in August of that year. Jumps from 65th to 17th in the world in the space of a month.

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Juan Martin del Potro wins his first-ever tournament: ATP Stuttgart in 2008

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October 2008 – Enters world's top 10 for first time, thanks to a run to the quarter-finals of the US Open and progress to the final of ATP Tokyo. He loses – to Tomas Berdych – but is the new world number nine.

Juan Martin del Potro - Austrian Open winner 2008

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September 2009 – A solid season sparks into life in August as he wins ATP Washington and makes the final of the Montreal Masters, but better is to come: Delpo follows it up by winning the US Open, beating Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer in the semi-finals and final respectively to enter world's top five. Federer hadn't lost a match at Flushing Meadows since 2003. "It’s unbelievable moment. It's amazing match, amazing people. Everything is perfect." Federer's verdict? "In the end he was the better man."

TENNIS 2009 Juan Martin Del Potro

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January 2010 – Hits career-high of fourth in the world as he opens the season by winning the Melbourne Classic at the start of the year. Just a few days later he picks up a wrist injury which initially seems minor – he plays through the pain at the Australian Open, only to lose in the fourth round – but then is off the tour and goes under the knife in May.

2010 Australian Open - Del Potro

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September 2010 – Just two weeks before the US Open he admits defeat in his battle to be fit for the tournament, saying that he is simply unable to play at the highest level. Losing the points from his win the year before sees him plummet to 34th in the world… but there is worse to follow. Having hardly played all season Del Potro's ranking falls off a cliff following the ATP World Tour Finals and he drops to 259 in the world. He later hits a low of 485 in the rankings after losing at the second round of the Australian Open in 2011.

Argentina's Del Potro in a rare outing in 2010

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March 2011 – After the disappointment of an early exit in Melbourne he soars to life, making two successive ATP Tour semi-finals before claiming a victory at Delray Beach. He's back up to 89th in the world, then soars into the top 50 after making semi-finals at Indian Wells and Miami Masters

2011 Tennis Miami Masters Juan Martin Del Potro

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November 2011 – A run to the fourth round at Wimbledon sees him re-enter the world's top 20, and solid if unspectacular results - including helping Argentina to the Davis Cup final - him climb to world number 11 at the end of the season. He's named the ATP Tour's "Comeback Player of the Season"… there's just one problem: he's started to suffer problems with his shoulder….

2011 Davis Cup - Juan Martin Del Potro

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October 2012 – Two wins in two weeks – in Vienna and Basel – help him climb to seventh in the world after a season in which he made three Grand Slam quarter-finals. He seems to be back near his best.

Juan Martin del Potro after beating Roger Federer in Basel in 2012

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July 2013 – Injures his leg in a tense Wimbledon quarter-final against David Ferrer, but comes through to win. The semi-final against Novak Djokovic ends in defeat, but the match is hailed as one of the greatest ever played at Wimbledon – and remains the longest-ever semi-final, at four hours 43 minutes.

Novak Djokovic and Juan Martin Del Potro during their Wimbledon semi-final (Reuters)

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January 2014 – Returns to number four in the world after winning ATP Sydney and then making the second round at the Australian Open, but it doesn't last: immediately after the tournament he begins treatment on his wrist; a few weeks later he has further surgery that sees him ruled out for the remainder of the year.

Juan Martin del Potro - 2015

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February 2015 – Makes the quarter-finals of ATP Sydney, but is forced to withdraw from the Australian Open due to his wrist problem. He lines up at the Miami Masters a few weeks later, but loses his first match, clearly not fit. Del Potro's ranking hits 621 in the world.

Juen Martin Del Potro - ATP Sydney 2015

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February 2016 – Having not played in a year, and with his ranking at number 1045, he returns to action at long last, taking part in the ATP Delray Beach Open. Incredibly, he makes the semi-finals – and leaps up to 420 in the world.

Juan Martin del Potro - Delray Beach 2016

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June 2016 – A run to the semi-finals in Stuttgart sees him roar back into the world's top 200, a position he consolidates with a third-round appearance at Wimbledon.

Juan Martin del Potro - Wimbledon 2016

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August 2016 – Stuns Novak Djokovic by beating him in the first round at the Olympic tennis tournament in Rio de Janeiro, before going on to beat Rafa Nadal in the semi-finals - and push Andy Murray all the way in the final before settling for silver. Incredibly, he's named as the third favourite to win the title in New York - despite only being the world number 142!