Delpo: ‘He Was Too Good’

It was a tremendous stretch for Juan Martin del Potro — the Argentine won his first ATP World Tour 500-level title since 2013 Basel in Acapulco before claiming his maiden ATP World Tour Masters 1000 trophy at Indian Wells. Four more victories in Miami brought his winning streak to 15 matches and a personal-best start to the season of 21-3, leading the ATP World Tour in wins. With two more triumphs, the ‘Tower of Tandil’ could have become the eighth player to win the ‘Sunshine Double’ by lifting the trophy in both Indian Wells and Miami.

So while Del Potro was disappointed that he lost in straight sets against American John Isner in Friday’s semi-finals at the Miami Open presented by Itau, he kept the defeat in perspective.

“I played well. I did a good tournament, and I go home with many things to celebrate,” Del Potro said. “John deserved to win today. He serves unbelievable. He plays great tennis on the tie-break. He was too good for me.”

It’s widely known that Del Potro has the ability to hit almost any player off the court, as he is armed with what is commonly considered one of the best shots in the sport: a hammer-like forehand. But on Friday, the 32-year-old Isner took the racquet out of the World No. 6’s hands with outlandish serving and free-swinging play from the baseline, intertwined with effective trips to the net with sweetly placed drop volleys.

Del Potro was unable to earn a break point against Isner, or even get to deuce. The American won 80 per cent of points on serve, claiming an astonishing 75 per cent of second-serve points against arguably the most in-form player in the world.

“He has a better serve than me, and then when he plays as good as today, he’s one of the tougher guys on Tour,” Del Potro. “Not many players can return his serves. He plays every time making winners. When he has a good day, he has everything to win a title like this. I think he was better for today.”

To be fair, Del Potro has played a lot of tennis in the past month — 16 matches and 38 sets, to be exact. But that was not going to stop him from pushing on to try to win his first trophy in Miami. His semi-final result was not for lack of effort.

“When I get onto the court I love to play tennis. I got too much love from the fans, and maybe that pain goes away during the match,” Del Potro said of the wear-and-tear on his body from all of his recent play. “But today John played better. I don’t have any skills for that. He was better than me, and he deserved to win.”

It’s easy to wonder what could have been — Del Potro would have risen to a career-high of No. 3 in the ATP Rankings if he would have won the title at Crandon Park. But keep in mind that three years ago after losing in the Miami first round, the Argentine left ranked No. 555. Two years ago, it was No. 338. And last year? World No. 35. He will stay at World No. 6 on Monday.

Numerous wrist surgeries kept Del Potro away from his best — or anywhere near it — for years. But the Argentine has announced loudly and clearly that he is once again a tremendous force to be reckoned with on the ATP World Tour.

“I will have a good vacation, maybe a week or more days. Depends how I feel,” Del Potro said. “But I would love to go home, to stay in Tandil eating barbecues, spend time with my family and friends and not talk about tennis for a couple of weeks.”

Del Potro doesn’t have to — his tennis has done that for him.