As Juan Martin Del Potro sat hunched over, his hands holding his head up, trying to contain the emotions that flooded his first ATP Tour win in 11 months, the crowd’s roar enveloped him, prodded him up on his feet. He stood, looked to the crowd, raised his hands and clapped in appreciation of their support and love. Thus was the triumphant return of a tennis player with much to bring to the sport. Del Potro is a star the ATP Tour needs, one that brings power, personality, and an important presence to the tour.
Disrupting Power
An old school Del Potro has pop off both sides of his ground strokes that could cause serious disruption in the games of Djokovic, Murray, and Fed. Much how Wawrinka has been a small thorn in Djokovic’s side during his incredible run by simply blasting balls through the court, Del Potro holds this same capability. In his return match against Denis Kudla, he seemed content at times to rally more than some remembered from peak Del Potro years; he relied more on his slice backhand ( a necessity due to his wrist injury recovery), and tempered his second serve return attack; however, there were many flashes of the old firepower Del Potro displayed in the mid 2000s. Numerous times throughout the match, Del Potro ran around the back hand side to fire that wicked angled inside out forehand; a classic shot for the Argentinian during his US Open run in 2009. Del Potro’s serve is still big. His 5 aces were balanced by 5 double faults, but there were many unreturnable serves from the 6’6 27 year old. He easily painted both corners of each service box, and was able to spin the ball wide at 120 mph and better.
A healthy, powerful, agile Del Potro could potentially challenge Djokoovic’s run towards 17, 18, 23 or whatever number of slams that have been predicted he will win. A serious challenger to that race will make for great plot lines, head lines, and help add to the mystique and importance of his chase. Del Potro’s ability to stay healthy and his redeveloping endurance to play high level tennis over a long stretch of a tournament are obviously crucial to his climb back to the top, but in a perfect world where all of this happens, it would be an amazing narrative for the ATP.
Personality and Charisma
Del Potro has long been admired by both genders for his charisma, looks, and likable personality. A fashion model, with thousands of followers on social media, Del Potro never lost that “it” factor that raises a tennis player from well known athlete to celebrity. Twitter is still awash in Del Potro fan girls and fan boys a like; some admiring his dark hair, tan, easy manner in front of the camera. Others admiring his lifestyle–the Del Potro that dates Playboy bunnies, drives sports cars, and is an integral part of various night life communities. Beyond the social media persona, Del Potro has a quick wit and personality that brings fans into his matches and interviews. After defeating Kudla for his first win on tour in 11 years, Del Potro was asked on court what he knew about his next opponent (JP Smith of Australia.) His response was a fast, dead panned reply, ” I don’t know him. I’ve been on the couch watching the Simpsons for two years.” The crowd roared and the twittersphere blew up in appreciation of this joke. Although the ATP is not short on big names, there is still constant criticism for the lack of personality from its top players. Although Djokovic, Nick Kyrgios, and Ernest Gulbis are big personalities, Djokovic has reinvented himself, no longer doing on court impersonations, Kyrigios borders on ill behaved rather than entertaining, and Gulbis is having a hard time staying relevant on tour. The ATP needs a likable personality to draw people into both its product and advertising. Del Potro is a perfect fit for this role.
South American Presence
Maybe more so than any of these other factors, the ATP wants and needs a return of peak Del Potro so it can have an important star presence in South America. Gone are the days of Gustavo Kuerten, David Nalbandian, and Marcelo Rios. When Del Potro emerged on the scene, he seemed the air apparent to keep the ATP relevant on the continent. With the South American season operating in the nether region between the Australian Open and Indian Wells, it is hard to keep the interest of the South American media throughout the rest of the tennis season. However, with a healthy, relevant Del Potro, South Americans have a real reason to stay in touch with what happens on the ATP tour. Their attention equals ratings, advertising, and revenue for the ATP, and although the market of the ATP was by no means closed or absent in South America, this definitely opens it up in new and better ways for the brand.
The tennis community will have to wait and see how the return of Del Potro develops. Although the win is a great sign towards a bright return, none would argue that Kudla played well, or pushed Del Potro in ways that await him. If Del Potro can stay healthy, and if he can develop the endurance and mental fortitude to maintain a high level of play over the course of a tourney, then success seems a pearl in the ATP oyster that is his to take. A pearl that if he claims will not only add to his own legacy, but also help the ATP as well.
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