Argentine tennis star Juan Martin del Potro is one of the most underrated tennis players in the world. He stunned many when he clinched the 2009 US Open title, defeating Roger Federer in the final.
Juan Martín del Potro was born in Tandil, Argentina. His father, Daniel del Potro (1957–2021), played rugby union in Argentina and was a veterinarian. His mother, Patricia Lucas, is a teacher, and he has a younger sister named Julieta. He also had an elder sister, who died in a car accident when she was eight years old.
Del Potro played his first junior match in April 2003 at the age of 14 at a Grade-2 tournament in Italy. As a junior in 2002, del Potro won the Orange Bowl 14s title, beating Marin Čilić en route to a victory over Pavel Tchekov in the final.
In 2003, at the age of 14, del Potro received wildcards to three ITF Circuit events in Argentina, where he lost in straight sets in the first round of each.
As a junior, del Potro reached as high as No. 3 in the combined ITF junior world rankings, in January 2005.
While it’s a known fact that del Potro’s career was marred with injuries and many fans would agree that he would have won more titles if not for the health problems, the Argentinian star still managed to stun the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, etc.
Del Potro has a 6–11 (35.3%) record against Rafael Nadal. He bested Nadal in the semifinals en route to his 2009 US Open title, which was the first time a player managed to beat both Roger Federer and Nadal in the same Grand Slam tournament (Novak Djokovic subsequently did the same at the 2011 US Open).
However, the Spaniard managed to win both times in the Indian Wells Masters encounters, in the 2011 semifinal and the 2013 final. Nadal also won the fourth and last rubber of the 2011 Davis Cup final against the Argentine.
Del Potro gained the upper hand at the 2013 Shanghai Masters, defeating Nadal to reach the final where he lost to Djokovic. Del Potro defeated Nadal in a third-set tiebreak in the semifinal of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, while Nadal stopped Del Potro’s 2017 US Open run, defeating him in a four-set semifinal.
In the quarterfinals of 2018 Wimbledon, Nadal came from two sets to one down to defeat Del Potro in an epic five-set match. In their most recent meeting, Del Potro advanced to the final of the 2018 US Open when Nadal had to retire while trailing by two sets.
Del Potro has a 3–7 (30.0%) record against Andy Murray. They only played two finals. The first was in the 2009 Rogers Cup, which was won by Murray.
However, when del Potro beat Murray in the quarterfinals of the 2013 BNP Paribas Open, del Potro won against all members of the Big Four in 2013.
In their second final, del Potro lost to Murray in the 2016 Summer Olympics.
However, during Argentina’s Davis Cup semi-final tie against Great Britain, del Potro got revenge by beating Andy Murray in a five-set thriller that was, for each man, the longest match of his career.
Del Potro first entered the top 10 of the ATP rankings on 6 October 2008. In January 2010, he reached a then-career-high ranking of world No. 4, after which he withdrew from most of the season due to an injury to his right wrist.
In 2016, del Potro led Argentina to its first-ever Davis Cup title by defeating Croatia’s Marin Čilić in the final from two sets down.
He reached his first major semifinal in four years by defeating Federer in the quarterfinals of the 2017 US Open.
In 2018, he won his first Masters 1000 title at the Indian Wells Masters, defeating the defending champion and world No. 1 Federer in the final. After reaching the semifinals of the 2018 French Open, he matched his career-high ranking of No. 4, and in August 2018 he reached the world No. 3 ranking for the first time. At the 2018 US Open, he reached his second major final, where he lost to Novak Djokovic.
Del Potro did not play between June 2019 and February 2022 because of pain from a knee injury and said he would retire as a result. During his career, del Potro won 22 ATP singles titles and one doubles title.
The Argentine has been sponsored by brands like Wilson, Nike, Luxilon, Peugeot, Rolex, and others. Peugeot is one of his most recent associates, having penned a deal in late 2017.
