Every tournament Juan Martin Del Potro plays in you can expect one thing–the fans will be on his side most of the time, regardless of the opponent. It’s no different in Delray Beach, a tournament where the Argentinian has had a lot of success, including a title in 2011 when he defeated Janko Tipsarevic in the final.
I’ve never seen a bigger crowd at the Delray Beach Tennis Center than last year when Juan Martin Del Potro faced Milos Raonic in the semifinals. That includes USA Davis Cup and Fed Cup ties, including top players like Serena Williams, Venus Williams, and Andy Roddick. Del Potro’s mentioned in previous years that playing in Delray Beach feels like a “hometown” tournament to him. Argentinian fans in the South Florida area show up whether it’s the Miami Open or the Delray Beach Open. Del Potro mentioned the boisterous fan support on Tuesday meeting with the media, saying, “I have great memories coming back and playing in Delray Beach, after winning the tournament after right wrist surgery. I know many Argentinian and American fans come to watch me play here.”
Before this season, the Delray Beach Open is where Juan Martin del Potro started his season at after missing back-to-back Australian Opens. When he took the court for the first time in nearly a year off tour with wrist injuries in 2016 he was ranked 1045, now he enters the tournament in 2018 back inside the top 10.
It will be interesting to see how Del Potro performs at the Delray Beach Open with some matches under his belt before heading into the tournament. There were little expectations on him in previous years as most people were just happy to see him back on the court, but now he comes in back inside the top 10 and with the #2 seed.
Del Potro will face Frenchman Jeremy Chardy in the first round. Their last meeting took place at the 2016 Delray Beach Open where Del Potro won 6-2 6-3. After the match, Chardy said “I know Del Potro really well, He’s one year younger than me so we’ve known each other since we were kids. He’s a good friend of mine. We had a lot of fun in juniors together.”
