The “Tower of Tandil” is rising toward the top of the tennis world again. Fourth seed Juan Martin del Potro defended his Intrum Stockholm Open title on Sunday, defeating top seed and 2013 champion Grigor Dimitrov, 6-4, 6-2 in one hour, 23 minutes. It is the Argentine’s first title since he lifted the trophy in Sweden last year. “I played the best match of the week against Grigor today. Unlucky for that, sorry Grigor,” del Potro said. “It’s amazing to come back and hold this big trophy. And hopefully I can come next year as well. I love to be in Stockholm. I like the city a lot. I like the Swedish people and you treated me very, very good...
Two former champions will battle it out for the 2017 Intrum Stockholm Open title as reigning champion Juan Martin del Potro outlasted eighth seed Fernando Verdasco on Saturday in a tussle between two of the biggest forehands in tennis, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(1), to set up a clash against top-seeded Grigor Dimitrov. “It was a great match. We both played great tennis and I think the crowd enjoyed our game,” del Potro said. “I’m glad to be in the final once again.” Del Potro is into his first final of the season, and his first overall since lifting the trophy in Sweden last year. The right-hander will attempt to win his 20th title on Sunday. The match will be of the...
Defending champion Juan Martin del Potro continued his late charge in the Emirates ATP Race To London with a 6-2, 7-6(6) win against seventh seed Yuichi Sugita at the Intrum Stockholm Open on Friday evening. “I just played good tennis in the tie-break,” del Potro said. “I found a way in the last point of the match and I got through in an important match and I’m glad to be in the semi-finals.” The Shanghai Rolex Masters semi-finalist is now No. 16 in the Race with 1,975 points. Should he go on to advance to his first final since his last visit to Stockholm, he will climb to 15th, and then 14th should he defend his crown, which would bring...
1) Rest is best for Roger They don’t call Roger Federer the ‘Swiss Maestro’ for nothing. The 36 year old has played a masterful schedule in 2017, helping him rise back to the No. 2 spot in the Emirates ATP Rankings with an outside chance at challenging Rafael Nadal for the year-end top spot. While many may point out his on-court play, some of that success boils down to something simpler: rest. After losing in last year’s Wimbledon semi-finals, Federer took the rest of the year off to return to health, and that he did this season. The Swiss won the Australian Open, Wimbledon and this week captured his tour-leading third ATP World Tour Masters 1000 trophy in Shanghai. The...
Considering there were concerns he might not even be able to take the court against Roger Federer, Juan Martin del Potro gave the fans a semi-final to savour at the Shanghai Rolex Masters on Saturday. After his three-set victory over Viktor Troicki in the quarter-finals, del Potro’s communications manager, Jorge Viale, posted on Twitter that the Argentine had his wrist in a splint and would decide on Saturday morning if he could play against Federer. While not a serious injury, del Potro had suffered a wrist contusion. But play he did and the Tandil native had Federer in all sorts of trouble as he took the first set against the Swiss. The tide turned when Federer broke in the sixth...
