Juan Martin del Potro finally bagged his first ever win since winning the US Open in 2009, defeating Janko Tipsarevic on Sunday. Coming back from missing the larger part of the previous season after a wrist injury, del Potro looked exhausted during the final legs of the match but managed to keep his serves accurate compared to the erratic shots of Tipsarevic. This win is big move forward for del Potro, who was uncertain about his chances of playing after his wrist injury.
“Three months ago, I was thinking I’ll be trying to play tournaments,” the 22-year-old said. “Now I won a tournament. It’s great to win a tournament after a year.”
The win is expected to move him a few notches up the rankings, but there is still a long way to go before he can start facing off with top players.
“I don’t know if I’m ready to fight with top-10 players, but I’m working very hard and hope to do it soon,” the Argentine said. “I need 20 to 25 matches before I’ll really be ready to play with them, but it’s coming soon.”
Del Potro already has eight career titles and reached the semifinals of San Jose and Memphis before playing Delray Beach. Other matches in the horizon include Indiana Wells or Miami in March. Tipsarevic for his part, had a good lead at the beginning but started to falter, playing poorly in the seventh, giving del Potro the service break, which the Argentine followed with another service break in the fifth game of the second set.