After a month of training and resting, Juan Martin del Potro knows he has a tough road ahead of him for the upcoming clay swing of the tour.
The former US Open champion will get his campaign on the clay underway on Tuesday at the Estoril Open in Portugal. Awaiting him in the first round will be Japan’s Yuichi Sugita, a player he has never played before. It is expected that the fifth seed will come through the encounter as he tries to win the tournament for the third time in his career and first since 2012.
“I am very happy to return to Estoril, I have good memories of this tournament, I won it in 2011 and 2012,” said Del Potro.
“This year will be a bit different, as it will be my first clay-court tournament. I hope I can win a couple of matches.” He added.
Whilst he isn’t the top seed, few can dispute the appeal Del Potro has in the tennis community. John Isner once described the Argentine as the ‘good guy’ on the tour. Del Potro’s appeal is one that makes him a golden ticket for organisers. João Zilhão, who is the tournament director of the Estoril Open, revelled ticket sales ‘soared’ when they announced the attendance of the 28-year-old.
“He is clearly an asset to the tournament and since we unveiled his name, ticket sales soared. The tickets are sold out for the past couple of days, since a few days ago.” Zilhão told Bolaamarela.pt last week.
Del Potro’s popularity is illustrated with his social media accounts. Both his Facebook and Twitter profiles have over two million people following.
Pendant ce temps Richard Gasquet et Juan-Martin Del Potro s’échauffent ensemble à Estoril : pic.twitter.com/1SEvrmlW0z (vidéo @estorilopen)
— We Are Tennis France (@WeAreTennisFR) 1 May 2017
‘The toughest one’
This year is set to see Del Potro return to the French Open for the first time since 2012. His lengthy absence from Roland Garros was a result of a troublesome wrist injury followed by a decision to rest ahead of the grass swing last year. The highly anticipated return is one grabbing the attention of many, but the man himself is keeping his expectations low.
“The clay season is the toughest one for me,” he said.
Currently with 19 ATP titles under his belt, only four of those have only occurred on the clay. Del Potro other 15 trophies have all occurred on a hardcourt, including his sole grand slam triumph at the 2009 US Open.
The Tower of Tanadil’s quest for a solid spell on the red dirt comes as his search for a coach continues. In recent weeks speculation has mounted that Del Potro might hire a super coach to his team, but no agreement is yet to be made.
“I’m still looking for the ideal person. I have many names, including (Pete) Sampras, but I have not yet taken a decision,” he revelled.
Del Potro has been without a primary coach since splitting with Franco Davin in 2015.