Times change in professional sport. Many top superstars come and go, and every elite sport sees different cycles of domination from immaculate stars at the pinnacle of their game, but has the most recent cycle in professional tennis left Juan Martin Del Potro behind?
Juan Martin Del Potro made his long-awaited return to professional tennis at Delray Beach a couple of weeks ago, where he displayed very promising tennis from the outset to beat Denis Kudla, Australian John Patrick-Smith, and Jeremy Chardy before losing to eventual champion Sam Querrey in the semifinal. That loss marked the first ever loss Juan Martin Del Potro had incurred at the tournament, but is there enough scope for a promising comeback with full recovery from the wrist injury on the horizon?
Can Del Potro make it to the top of the game again?
The most notable difference in Del Potro’s body language and positive mind set was the fact that he was willing to hit through the backhand stroke, not exclusively, but at least to a greater extent than he was in his previous comeback last year in Sydney. It can be argued that Del Potro’s star quality on a tennis court, with a bludgeoning forehand and incredible firepower is enough to get him many victories on the ATP tour, as he demonstrated previously–before the persistent left and right wrist surgeries he’s endured. The backhand is glaringly weaker than the strengths of his forehand side, but an argument can be made that even if Del Potro chooses to be proactive on that particular shot, players will still pick that shot out as his weaker wing anyway.
So in reality Del Potro has to find a way to strike first, so he can manipulate the ball with his forehand from the beginning of the rally, because even if he marginally improves the backhand wing, the top opponents will find a way to avoid the forehand side, unless he plays rallies on his terms–that will subsequently take time.
Another talking point for Del Potro is whether he can elevate his game to contest the likes of Novak Djokovic, who has taken the professional game to a whole new height. His undying commitment and dedication to tennis in all aspects of the sport has set the benchmark for the next person to try to compete with in years to come. Can Del Potro contest that? Probably not, but what matters most is that Del Potro is one of the players in tennis that can blast the best off the court on any given day. The first step is getting healthy and playing regularly. Beyond that? Anything can happen.
