Juan Martin Del Potro
The majority of the world's top 20 are aged between 21 and 25, the age at which tennis players peak. Rafael Nadal, 22 and Novak Djokovic, 21 still have their best years ahead of them, which reduces the prospects of grand slam glory for similarly aged players such as Andy Murray, Stanislas Wawrinka and Richard Gasquet. Del Potro is not yet 20 and has time on his side in the bid to join the game's elite.
The Argentinian youngster has just won two ATP events in a week, following his maiden tour win at the the Mercedes open in Stuttgart with victory in the Austrian open in Kitzbuhel. Both wins were on clay and it is easy to assume that del Potro is another South American specialist on the red stuff.
He is indeed comfortable on clay having been brought up on the surface, but at 6ft 6 is more of a hard court specialist with a big serve. Players from Argentina only usually prosper at the French open but del Potro has the game to succeed at Wimbledon and the hard courts of the US and Australian opens. He achieved second round appearances at Melbourne and Wimbledon and is clearly progressing at a good enough rate to reach the latter stages next season.
Del Potro was a good junior, reaching the last eight of the 2005 French open, but was never marked for greatness at senior level like Nadal of Federer were. Three futures tournament wins in 2006 elevated him 900 places in the rankings and at 25th in the list he is now ready to add some big name scalps to that of Gasquet which he claimed in the Stuttgart final.
He is a step ahead of his peers in development and should have a window of opportunity to win majors in his mid-twenties when Nadal and Djokovic are past their best and Federer has retired. Coach Franco Davin will need to oversee more steady progress but back-to-back tour wins - a feat that only he and Nadal achieved this season - suggests consistency will not be a problem.
Those who want to follow an outsider at the US open might be interested in del Potro's progress at Flushing Meadows and it will be interesting to see if he can maintain his good form and justify his ranking position. Del Potro's time is not yet but I expect him to finish his career as a grand slam winner.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Philip_Oliver
The Argentinian youngster has just won two ATP events in a week, following his maiden tour win at the the Mercedes open in Stuttgart with victory in the Austrian open in Kitzbuhel. Both wins were on clay and it is easy to assume that del Potro is another South American specialist on the red stuff.
He is indeed comfortable on clay having been brought up on the surface, but at 6ft 6 is more of a hard court specialist with a big serve. Players from Argentina only usually prosper at the French open but del Potro has the game to succeed at Wimbledon and the hard courts of the US and Australian opens. He achieved second round appearances at Melbourne and Wimbledon and is clearly progressing at a good enough rate to reach the latter stages next season.
Del Potro was a good junior, reaching the last eight of the 2005 French open, but was never marked for greatness at senior level like Nadal of Federer were. Three futures tournament wins in 2006 elevated him 900 places in the rankings and at 25th in the list he is now ready to add some big name scalps to that of Gasquet which he claimed in the Stuttgart final.
He is a step ahead of his peers in development and should have a window of opportunity to win majors in his mid-twenties when Nadal and Djokovic are past their best and Federer has retired. Coach Franco Davin will need to oversee more steady progress but back-to-back tour wins - a feat that only he and Nadal achieved this season - suggests consistency will not be a problem.
Those who want to follow an outsider at the US open might be interested in del Potro's progress at Flushing Meadows and it will be interesting to see if he can maintain his good form and justify his ranking position. Del Potro's time is not yet but I expect him to finish his career as a grand slam winner.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Philip_Oliver
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