The last time Juan Martin del Potro stepped on a grass court was in an epic 2013 Wimbledon semifinal against Novak Djokovic. The pair traded blows for four hours and 43 minutes in a match both men described as one of the best they had been a part of.
That was until yesterday. Because fast forward three years and Delpo is back on the green stuff – and winning again.
The Argentine dismantled a disgruntled Grigor Dimitrov 6-4 6-2 in the first round of the MercedesCup in Stuttgart, and will go on to play in-form Aussie John Millman in the second round. Get through that and he should be on course for a semifinal against fellow US Open champ Marin Cilic, and a final against Roger Federer.
That's it for today. Very happy after playing my first match on grass in 3 years. ??? pic.twitter.com/3QZEnjgYoK
— Juan M. del Potro (@delpotrojuan) June 7, 2016
“It’s a big victory for me after three years of not playing on this surface,” del Potro told the ATP. “I beat one guy who was playing great on grass court and I didn’t expect this kind of level to be my first match on grass, but I’m looking forward to keep going. I served well, my forehand is working good. My backhand is starting to come back in my game and that gives me motivation for the future.”
“We will see if I did a good choice after Wimbledon, but I’m happy to be in this tournament once again.
“The tournament is improving year by year, and I have great memories from Stuttgart when I won the title in 2008. Could be a good idea to do a comeback on grass-court season and come back in Stuttgart.”
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