Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro has made a triumphant return to the ATP World Tour at the Delray Beach Open after almost a year on the sidelines. The 2009 US Open champion, playing his first match since March last year, defeated American Denis Kudla 6-1, 6-4 in the first round on Tuesday night.

Delray Beach is a familiar comeback ground for the 27 year old. He won the title five years ago as the World No. 166 in the Emirates ATP Rankings on the comeback trail from right wrist surgery. On Tuesday night, he improved his unbeaten run there to six matches.

“I think winning a match after 11 months is the gift of the tournament for me,” the former World No. 4 said. “I’m so excited to keep working because I’m feeling if I do well and if I stay healthy my tennis will be behind me and maybe I can be dangerous one day again.

“I was nervous before the match and excited to see how my forehands and serves were going to be on court. I knew how my backhand would be … I’m still working and improving to have a very good backhand to compete in this level. For me it’s like winning a very important match in my career.”

Del Potro bolted out of the gates, breaking the American’s opening service game before holding for 3-0 after just 10 minutes. He secured the double break for 5-1 and served out the opener 6-1 after 24 minutes. 

The Argentine broke in the opening game of the second and consolidated for 2-0. He sustained the advantage throughout the remainder of the set against the World No. 59, serving it out on his first match point in little more than an hour.

It marked a crucial step on his fourth comeback trail from injury, having played just two tournaments – Sydney and Miami – before undergoing left wrist surgery in January and again in June last year. He finished 2015 outside the Top 100 in the Emirates ATP Rankings for the third time in six years due to wrist injuries.

“I don’t do anything special. I think the only thing to do is work hard and if you do before a tournament you have more chance to feel good,” del Potro said. “I have a great family and good friends who support me all the time. They were watching my match on TV in Argentina; it’s very late there. I know they’re very proud of me. They know how sad I was in the past.”

One of the leading stars of the Next Generation, Nick Kyrgios, made a successful return to action on Tuesday in Marseille as he defeated Vasek Pospisil 6-4, 6-4 in the first round of the Open 13 Provence.

The 20-year-old Australian is playing just his second tournament of the year, after reaching the third round at the Australian Open (l. to Berdych). On his Marseille debut, Kyrgios broke Pospisil twice to secure victory in 70 minutes.

“I knew it would be a tough match,” said Kyrgios. “He’s a great player, he has a great serve, he loves fast surface so I knew I had to play well and serve well and I’m happy that I managed to do it.”

Kyrgios goes on to face Teymuraz Gabashvili, who saved three match points as he upset defending champion Gilles Simon 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(7). The Russian trailed 6-4 in the tie-break and faced another match point at 7-6 before converting his first opportunity after two hours and 30 minutes.

The fifth-seeded Simon won the title at this ATP World Tour 250 indoor hard-court tournament last year with victory over Gael Monfils in an all-French final. He had also lifted the trophy in 2007 (d. Baghdatis).

The 30-year-old Gabashvili was a semi-finalist in Sydney last month (l. to Troicki) and has a 5-4 match record on the season.

Sergiy Stakhovsky will face top seed Stan Wawrinka in the second round after beating Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(5) in one hour and 54 minutes. “I feel fantastic!” said Stakhovsky, who struck 12 aces to get off the mark in his 2016 ATP World Tour campaign. “After my first win of 2016, how else am I supposed to feel? I’m feeling great.”

Lopez also fell in his first-round doubles match Tuesday. Teaming up with fellow Spaniard Marc Lopez, the top seeds fell to Robin Haase and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi 7-6(0), 7-6(6). 

Ernests Gulbis set a second-round clash with third seed Richard Gasquet as he edged qualifier Kenny De Schepper 6-4, 6-7(6), 7-6(2) in two hours and 13 minutes. After missing a match point in the second set tie-break, Gulbis rallied from an early break deficit in the decider to claim victory in another tie-break, firing 16 aces.

In the same quarter of the draw, Mischa Zverev and Sascha Zverev both advanced with straight-sets wins. Mischa, a qualifier, beat wild card Ramkumar Ramanathan 6-2, 7-5 to set a second-round meeting with sixth seed David Goffin. Sascha will challenge No. 2 seed Tomas Berdych after closing out a 7-6(4), 7-5 victory over qualifier Julien Benneteau. The 18 year old will be looking to reach the quarter-finals for the third time in as many weeks. 

“I played quite well, I think,” he said. “This next match against Tomas will be one of the toughest ones of these three weeks, and we’ll see how I am, but from my game point of view, I’m ready for him.”

Another Frenchman fell as Andrey Kuznetsov defeated Lucas Pouille 7-6(1), 6-4 in one hour and 32 minutes.

American teenager Noah Rubin withstood 25 aces and saved three match points against Australian Sam Groth, prevailing 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(6) on Tuesday afternoon at the Delray Beach Open. He fought off two match points at 4-5 and another at 5-6 before clinching the two-hour, 16-minute victory on his third match point.

“This is definitely one of the Top 5 matches all time for me,” said the Long Island native. “I’m looking to carry this momentum and take it through the tournament.”

The 19 year old recorded his first tour-level win earlier this year at the Australian Open, when he defeated the 18th-ranked Benoit Paire, and afterwards climbed into the Top 250 of the Emirates ATP Rankings.

“Some people are able to get up there quicker than others,” said Rubin. “I think it’s more experience for the rest of us than anything. For the most part, we’re used to the tennis, but the experience of playing every point, day in day out, really solid all around, that’s something you don’t get as a junior or in college tennis. That’s something you need to find for yourself.”

Rubin will next face fifth-seeded Frenchman Jeremy Chardy, who cruised into the second round with a 6-2, 6-1 win over another Australian, Matt Ebden.

Damir Dzumhur set a second-round clash with No. 4 seed Grigor Dimitrov after defeating Ricardas Berankis, 6-4, 6-2. German Benjamin Becker also advanced in early Tuesday action as he dismissed Radu Albot 6-4, 6-1. 

Last year’s runner-up Fabio Fognini made a strong start at the Rio Open presented by Claro, defeating Aljaz Bedene 7-5, 6-3 on Tuesday in the first round. The Italian saved both break points he faced and converted four of his eight opportunities on Bedene’s serve to wrap up victory in one hour and 34 minutes.

Fognini stunned Rafael Nadal last year to reach the final of this ATP World Tour 500 clay-court tournament, where he fell to David Ferrer.

Fifth seed Dominic Thiem kept up his strong form, dismissing Pablo Andujar 6-3, 6-4. The 22-year-old Austrian is coming off his fourth ATP World Tour title in Buenos Aires, where he beat Nadal in the semi-finals before overcoming Nicolas Almagro for the trophy.

Argentine Federico Delbonis upset Jack Sock, beating the sixth-seeded American 7-5, 6-1 in 78 minutes. Delbonis won 72 per cent of his service points as he notched his fifth win of the season.

Defending champion Ferrer and top seed Nadal are both in first-round action later.

Breaking into the Top 30 in the world is a milestone achievement in our sport.

Welcome to the club, Steve Johnson.

Johnson, 26, from Redondo Beach, California, reached a career-high No. 29 in the Emirates ATP Rankings last week – eight years, four months, and seven days after gaining his first ranking back on 1 October, 2007.

Success in our sport is predicated on patience, enduring adversity, and getting just a little bit better each and every day.

Johnson’s professional journey to the Top 30 took 3,543 days to plant, cultivate, and harvest, and that’s just what the typical professional tennis blueprint calls for.

Johnson, who was born on Christmas Eve in 1989, tapped into one of the most powerful forces of all – time – to gain his slight tennis edge.

Time for a tennis player is a massive unseen asset, magnifying the daily improvement of mastering the mundane, such as sharpening the essential tools of strokes and strategy.

Johnson’s key performance benchmarks on his pathway to the Top 30 all took about a year to achieve.

In a society that demands instant gratification, Johnson replaced the prevailing “right now” attitude to success by methodically cultivating his progress in yearly stepping stones.

Here’s how he did it:

TOP 1000       2010 (July)       
TOP 500         2011 (August)            
TOP 250         2012 (August)            
TOP 100         2013 (June)                
TOP 50           2014 (August)            
TOP 35           2015 (October)
TOP 30           2016 (February)         

Every part of Johnson’s game is incrementally getting better each season, with the big jumps coming on the returning side of the game.

Yearly Breakdown

2009-2012 – Johnson won four straight team titles at the University of Southern California under coach Peter Smith. Johnson also won the NCAA singles title in his last two years. He was the No. 1 ranked college player in 2011 & 2012, racking up a staggering 72 straight wins in his senior year.

2013 – Johnson lost more points than he won on tour (47 per cent), and was ranked primarily between No. 100 and No. 150 in the world. The jigsaw puzzle was still well and truly being put together.

2014 – This was Johnson’s breakout year, starting at No. 160 in the world, and finishing at No. 37. The move from outside the Top 150 in to the Top 50 is one of the most treacherous journeys in our sport, and Johnson crossed that bridge in a single calendar year.

2015 – This was a year of consolidation inside the Top 50 in the world, finishing the year at No. 32. He reached the final of the ATP World Tour 500 in Vienna, beating Alexandr Dolgopolov, Jerzy Janowicz, Kevin Anderson and Ernests Gulbis, before falling to David Ferrer 4-6, 6-4, 7-5. Johnson was only two points from victory with Ferrer serving at 4-5 in the third set. Experience got Ferrer over the line.

Johnson is currently the third-ranked American player, behind John Isner (No. 11) and Jack Sock (No. 23).

His best performance so far this year was reaching the third round of the Australian Open. Johnson’s baseline game is built around a heavy forehand, and using slice off his backhand wing to buy enough time to hit as many run-around forehands in the ad court as possible. In Melbourne, Johnson hit 35 forehands winners and only nine backhand winner in three matches.

Johnson also won 81 per cent (17/21) serving and volleying, and 67 per cent (39/58) approaching the net. He did not lose his serve in the opening two rounds against Aljaz Bedene and Thomaz Bellucci, saving a combined 5/5 break points.

Johnson’s next big stepping stone is the Top 20 in the world. He currently has 1,240 Emirates ATP Rankings points, while No. 20 Bernard Tomic has only around 500 more points, at 1,720.

That jump can be done in a week, but as always, there is no rush with Johnson. His slow burn approach is a proven best pathway to ultimate success.

Aspiring juniors all over the planet can look to the patient, incremental steps Johnson took to the Top 30 as a very successful roadmap to copy.

Time is your best friend.

Argentina’s Guido Pella has withstood a barrage of 31 aces to send No. 4 seed John Isner crashing out in the opening round of the Rio Open on Monday night, saving three match points in the 7-6(5), 5-7, 7-6(8) upset. The 25 year old won just 17 per cent of points on Isner’s first serve but still found a way past the World No. 12 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

He failed to convert any of his four break point opportunities in the three-hour, two-minute affair but did well to fend off 10 of 11 break points. After opening his season reaching the quarter-finals in Auckland and fourth round at the Australian Open, Isner fell to 0-2 on his South American swing, having fallen to Dusan Lajovic in his first match in Buenos Aires last week.

In his Rio Open debut, World No.71-ranked Pella had two match points with Isner serving to stay alive at 4-5 in the third set but the American held for 5-5 before both players traded love holds to force the deciding tie-break. From 5/5 in the tie-break, three times Isner stood at match point only to be denied.

Pella brought up match point No. 3 of his own at 9/8 and closed it out to book a second-round showdown with with either Santiago Giraldo or Gastao Elias. “I had a lot of chances and I did not play the right way,” a cramping Isner released via a statement following the match. “I had high expectations for this trip. I hope to come back and play better.”