Del Potro to gatecrash "The Big Four?"

Healthy: Del Potro is on the up.

By Daniel McAleer follow me: @dannymacattack

Maybe there was some divine intervention from fellow Argentine, Pope Francis in California but whatever it was, Del Potro produced some of his swashbuckling best tennis in a number of years. Okay, sure he lost to Nadal at The Indian Wells finals, (no shame in that) but some might say that having been a set and a break up to Rafa, maybe the Argie ran out of gas. After all, the Argentinian number one took the difficult route to the final, clocking up significant mileage in the quarter and semi finals. The leggy South American had to defeat what most people would consider the best two players in the world in Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic to set up a showdown with the Comeback King, Rafa Nadal.

Is it possible that “The Big Four” can be broken up? Is it possible that there could be a big five? The world number seven is under no illusions about the task ahead of him, if he is to reach the promised land of men’s tennis.

Ahead of his quarter final at Indian Wells, Del Potro told Reuters, “It’s really tough, those four guys are making history in every grand slam and every big tournament they play, Me and a few others like Berdych, Tsonga and Ferrer are trying to get into that big group but it’s not easy. They are playing so well and you can see in almost every grand slam the top four are in the semi-finals. It’s not easy beating them in a grand slam. You have to be 100 percent that day and then see if they don’t serve like you, if they give to you a little opportunity to beat them. I made it in 2009, then I got the injury with my wrist.”

Nobody can dispute the diminutive Del Potro’s talent, but a combination of injuries and patchy form has seen him fail to hit the heights that many predicted he would. The world number seven can boom with the best of them from the baseline and despite his lofty 6’6 frame he moves around the court remarkably well, he also has arguably the best forehand in the game, something world number one Novak Djokovic would echo in spades.

Speaking after his loss to delPo in the semi-final at Indian Wells, Djokovic said, “He’s right up there, he has a very flat forehand and his tactics is to stay in the backhand corner and try and run around the forehand. He’s basically inviting you to play on his forehand, so he has a great running forehand cross-court, depending on the surface, but he definitely uses that as a big weapon.” Evidence of delPo’s talent was visible to all in 2009 when he dispatched Rafa Nadal en-route to the finals at The US Open, where he would meet Federer. The Argie recovered from a set and a break down to upset R-Fed in five, Del Potro’s first victory over Federer in 7 meetings and handing the Swiss his first loss at Flushing Meadows since 2003.

Federer dethroned: Del Potro shocks the world.

Since then however, he has been labelled by many critics as a one hit wonder, but a run of good health has seen the South American climb to number seven in the rankings. He beat Djokovic in the bronze medal match at the London Olympics last year in a fine display of hitting, and has continued that good form to date in the 2013 season. So lets all hope that this powerhouse Argentinian can spend less time in the treatment room and more on the tennis court because if he can, coupled with Nadal’s comeback, we are in for one of the most entertaining seasons in a long time. Watch this space.

Del Potro to gatecrash “The Big Four?”

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