How Del Potro breathed life into ATP Tour and served reminder to ailing duo Murray and Djokovic
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Updated 20/03/2018 at 10:50 GMT
Juan Martin del Potro ended Roger Federer’s unbeaten 2018 run to triumph at Indian Wells. It’s a victory which gives the chasing pack hope, but also serves a reminder to Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic as to why it’s worth battling back from the brink, writes Michael Hincks.
Juan Martin Del Potro and Roger Federer
Image credit: Getty Images
A first ATP Masters 1000 title for Del Potro. A first defeat of 2018 for Federer.
This is no time to press the panic button for Federer. A supreme season to date now simply reads as 17-1, with Del Potro handing the 36-year-old just his sixth defeat since returning from a back injury in January last year.
But having also ended Federer’s US Open campaign back in September, it's clear Del Potro has the tools to topple the 20-time Grand Slam champion. How has he done it? Well, it's more than just relentless hard-hitting which has helped the Argentine…
How did Del Potro beat Federer again?
In three sets – is the short answer. 6-4 6-7 (8-10) 7-6 (7-2).
The stats enlighten us a little more. Del Potro’s return game was strong, his second-serve points won percentage was greater, and the double-fault count was reduced to just one to Federer’s five.
The stats - Juan Martin Del Potro v Roger Federer
Courtesy of atpworldtour.com
The conversion of two break points to Federer’s one (both saved three apiece) was crucial to Del Potro’s success, and it highlighted a key facet to his game that few other players on the Tour possess – bottle.
Or nerve. Or mettle. Or steel. Call it what you like, but Del Potro has it in abundance. Staring down the barrel 5-4 and 40-15 down in the third set, he saved three match points before levelling it up.
For all of his physical qualities – the power, the flatter than flat forehand – there’s a mental strength locked away in that 6ft 6in frame of his.
It was required as much to win the US Open in 2009 as it was at Indian Wells on Sunday, but crucially, this hardened belief was needed during his years in the injury wilderness.
Del Potro missed nine-straight Grand Slams between 2014 and 2016 – and also last year’s Australian Open – as a succession of wrist injuries continued to hamper the Argentine. It’s the reason he is a one-time Grand Slam winner as opposed to multiple.
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Juan Martin Del Potro gives an acceptance speech after his victory over Roger Federer
Image credit: Getty Images
‘I was thinking about quitting’
The injuries would have been too much for some, and Del Potro recalled earlier in the week how close he came to quitting tennis.
It was his love for the game which saw him through:
"I was close to quitting tennis because I had three surgeries on my wrist and I couldn't fix the problem," the 29-year-old said.
I got depressed at home for a long while, and I wasn't happy doing the effort to recover my wrist. That's what I was thinking about, quitting tennis. But thank God I'm here and healthy, and I'm playing tennis again. I'm doing this because I love it.
It’s a further indication of what tools you must possess to not only beat a champion, but return as one – a mental strength must back up your ability.
There are few who doubt Del Potro could have become a world No 1 without the wrist problems, though there are also few on the circuit who have persevered through such adversity and come out the other side still reaching such lofty heights.
Rafael Nadal has also displayed such persistence – as did Federer during his six-month lay-off – and it’s something both Djokovic and Murray must find within themselves now.
Del Potro is therefore a shining example on two fronts. The younger crop will be scrutinising how he beat Federer, taking notes on what is needed on-court to topple tennis’ greatest, while Djokovic and Murray will have watched that Indian Wells final and thought, simply, ‘That can be me'.
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Novak Djokovic of Serbia waves to the crowd as he walks off the court after losing his tennis match to Taro Daniel of Japan
Image credit: Getty Images
There’s work to do for these ailing champions. Djokovic may be back in action, but he’s not looking at full strength, while for Murray the recovery period from hip surgery is unclear - "I want to know when I come back that I'm ready,” he said, signalling the grass-court season as an ideal time to return.
And as Murray continues down that road to recovery, that champion belief must remain. Del Potro has shown it’s worth going through the wringer that is rehabilitation. If you come out fighting for titles on the other side, it all suddenly seems worth it.
It may be months before we see a full-strength pack vying for titles, but the Tour is alive once more as it heads swiftly east to Miami for another Masters battle under the sun. Federer will be out to right a wrong, and Del Potro will be hungry for more - it should make for another enthralling competition.
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