Del Potro Finds Spark On Return To Grass & Stuttgart

Many will remember the time Juan Martin del Potro and Novak Djokovic battled over five sets for a place in the 2013 Wimbledon final. After prevailing in four hours and 43 minutes, making it the longest Wimbledon semi-final in history, Djokovic remarked, “It was one of the best matches I’ve been a part of.” Meanwhile, del Potro referred to it as “the best tennis I ever played on grass”.

The match also happened to be the Argentine’s last on the surface prior his first-round match Tuesday at the MercedesCup in Stuttgart. His long-awaited return did not disappoint. Del Potro opened his campaign with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Grigor Dimitrov, also a former Wimbledon semi-finalist and a Queen’s Club champion.

“It’s a big victory for me after three years of not playing on this surface,” said del Potro. “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.”

Del Potro began his comeback in February with a semi-final run at the Delray Beach Open (l. to Querrey) and compiled an 8-5 record through the Mutua Madrid Open, where he upset a 14th-ranked Dominic Thiem, before electing to skip Roland Garros to prepare for the grass swing.

“We will see if I did a good choice after Wimbledon, but I’m happy to be in this tournament once again,” he said. “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.”

In 2008, a couple months shy of his 20th birthday, the Argentine claimed his first ATP World Tour title on the clay courts of the MercedesCup with victory over Richard Gasquet in the final. It provided the springboard for an incredible 23-match winning streak that resulted in three more titles and finished with a quarter-final showing at the US Open (l. to Murray), lifting him from No. 65 to No. 13 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

Eight years later, the former World No. 4 is back at the MercedesCup – reincarnated as a grass-court tournament last season – with a No. 223 Emirates ATP Ranking and hopes of sparking his comeback from his third wrist surgery in as many years.

“It’s not easy for me, but I’m surviving on this for the last six months of my life,” he said. “I’m dealing with the pain and my wrist is getting better, so this is good. Hopefully in the end of the season I can see I’m completely ready to try to go for the top guys.”