COMEBACK KID

Whether you call him “Delpo,” “La Torre De Tandil,” or “The Tower,” Juan Martin del Potro is a force to be reckoned with in the tennis world. At 23, the Argentinean tennis pro is ranked No. 10 in the men’s ATP, after climbing 475 spots in 2011.
And this isn’t his first rodeo. Del Potro’s first professional match was in 2005 at age 16. Three years later, he reached Top 10 ranking, and in that same year, became the first player in the ATP to win his first 4 career titles in as many tournaments. In 2009, he was the ATP’s youngest player in the Top 10, defending his No. 5 spot all throughout. That was the season he took home his first Grand Slam title at the 2009 U.S. Open, after winning back-to-back matches against Nadal in the semi-final, and Federer in the final. He was the first Argentine to win the U.S. Open since 1977, and the 5th-youngest player to ever take the title.
“Winning the U.S. Open was a very special moment for me,” explains the Tandil native, hence his nickname in Spanish, which translates to “The Tower of Tandil.” At 6’6”, he’s the tallest player to have won a Grand Slam. “But something that makes me feel really proud is also the fact that I can be an inspiration and an example for many kids who start playing tennis,” he says.
It’s with that level of passion and heart that he climbed to No. 4 the following year, his career-high ranking to date. Destined for the Top 3, he experienced a setback that sent him tumbling down the ranks, after a wrist injury that required surgery forced him to withdraw from most of the tournaments in 2010. The 8-month absence caused his ranking to plummet into the high 400s.
So how exactly does a then 21-year-old athlete recover from such a fall? The answer is love for the game, and the momentum that’s been building up since age 7, when he first put the racket to the ball. “I started hitting the ball against the wall and I found it fun, so I kept playing,” he says, referring to a time when he had no idea that, one day, crowds would be chanting “Delpo!” watching him hit that ball. “It was fun to arrive at the tennis center and play with many kids like me,” he says. “I couldn’t wait for school to be out so I could play.”
In modern day, the wrist injury was much like school: Throughout his recovery, del Potro could only think about getting back in the game. He was designed for it. With height to his advantage, the right-hander is known for his powerful serve, which maxed-out at 147 mph in a match versus Andy Murray, today’s No. 4, in Madrid. His forehand shot is said to be one of his biggest strengths, even the most powerful in the entire game. He prefers hard and clay surfaces, and with a hunger to reclaim his career-high ranking, he’s eager to shine on the purple court at this year’s Sony Ericsson Open.
“I think the recovery from the injury and coming back to the Top 10 was a very tough challenge for me,” he says, admitting that falling so far back wasn’t easy. But the challenge, it seems, was more powerful than the setback. “I want to improve and get better every day,” he says. “I want to have the opportunity to get on the court and win — but in order to do so, I need to practice.”
Like his powerful serve and forehand shot, the skill of learning is one he has been developing since his early years in the sport. Most know Franco Davin as a former ATP pro; since 2008, del Potro has known him as “Coach.” His fitness trainer is Martiniano Orazi, and together they train up to 7 hours a day. “Work hard, believe in yourself, and learn as much as you can from the game and the people around you,” he says of reaching the top. “I think I learned from every single person who coached me. Of course, my first teacher and my actual coach are the ones I learned from the most.”
Going back to his days in Tandil, also the hometown of ATP pros Mariano Zabaleta, Juan Monaco, Diego Junquiera and Maximo Gonzalez, del Potro’s first coach was Marcelo Gomez, one of the most influential people to shape his career. As a young athlete, he looked up to Pete Sampras, retired American player and former No. 1 in the ATP. Had he not gone the tennis route, he says he may have pursued soccer, or fútbol, and tells the ATP he may have been an architect. He speaks Spanish, English, and is brushing up on his Italian.
Del Potro comes from a close-knit family. You can say he got the athletic gene from his father, a semi-pro rugby player in Argentina. His mother, Patricia, is a teacher. Of all his accomplishments, family is his biggest pride. As the story goes, after winning his first title in Stuttgart in July 2008, he gave his CLK Mercedes-Benz to his sister, Julieta. “My parents and family are a great inspiration for me,” he smiles. “Although they don’t travel with me, we talk everyday and are very close.”
Key Biscayne may not be home, but its warmth makes it a close runner-up. “I love the city, the climate, the Latin atmosphere — I love everything in Miami,” he says. “With so many people supporting me, it feels so good to play there.”
And, he says, he plans to feed off of that energy to win “every single match” he plays during the Sony Ericsson Open. His goal is to keep improving, winning big matches and tournaments, and continuing his ascent up the rankings. Climbing 481 spots during his comeback season, his record tells us he is quite the contender. “I like to play on big stages with a big crowd,” he says. “It makes the atmosphere incredible, especially when you play against the top players in the world.” But what he’s thinking on the court is another story. “It’s better that I don’t tell you, or you may think I’m crazy,” he laughs. “And you don’t want to know what I say to myself when I make an error.”
Maybe we don’t. But when an ATP player admits that he would like to play a match against Serena Williams, thoughts no less than exhilarating could be circling his mind while he’s on the court.