Juan Martin Del Potro produced some sparkling tennis to ease into the second week of Wimbledon 2018 without dropping a set.
He beat Peter Gojowczyk 6-3 6-4 6-3 in the first round, obliterated Feliciano Lopez 6-4 6-1 6-2 in the second round and saw off Benoit Paire 6-4 7-6(4) 6-3 in a feisty third round clash.
However, the popular Argentine does not believe that makes him one of the favourites to win the tournament.
“I always say the same,” Del Potro said. “Roger and Rafa are the favorites. We also thought that Cilic could be a dangerous guy for them too, but he lost.”
“Also you have some big names such Kyrgios, Isner, Edmund and Djokovic. There are a few players who can be important in the last matches.”
Although Del Potro is too modest to put himself in the same category, he did admit that he was feeling good about the way he is playing.
“I know my game and it’s adapting well for this surface,” he said. “I had my chances to win here few years ago when I lost against Djokovic in the semi-final.”
“I don’t know how far I will go in this tournament, but I’m confident about my game at this time. I’m going match by match and seeing what can happen. I’ve had a good tournament already.”
Del Potro assesses the tasks ahead
For now, the World No.5 is focusing on his next challenge: a fourth-round encounter with Gilles Simon. The Frenchman has beaten Nikoloz Basilashvili, Matteo Berrettini and Matthew Ebden to get to this stage.
“Simon is a very smart player,” Del Potro said. “He likes to be solid from the baseline. He likes to play long rallies all the time. I will try to be aggressive, keep the points short and come into the net often.”
If the Argentine defeats Simon and then wins his quarter-final (which will probably be against Rafael Nadal), he could face Novak Djokovic in a Wimbledon semi-final once again.
And if the Serb makes it that far, Del Potro believes we will know more about the kind of form the 12-time Grand Slam champion is in by then.
“Novak has been playing much better every week,” he said. “I saw him in very good shape at Roland Garros. And now he has the confidence to play on this surface.”
“He will face Edmund today, which is a good chance to see how Djokovic is. But I think he will be in the position he deserves to be very, very soon.”
