Juan Martin del Potro was headed to Acapulco after his opening tournament in Delray Beach. The Argentine was given a wild card to the event but has opted to use next week to rest. The former world number four enjoyed a strong showing this week at the Delray Beach Open and will return to the courts at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.
Del Potro Returns With A Bang
For his first tournament back, del Potro played extremely well. In his opening round, he dominated the first set against Denis Kudla 6-1. Though his backhand looked shaky, which is inevitable after coming off another wrist surgery, the former US Open champion took the match in straight sets.
John-Patrick Smith was del Potro’s next opponent, and like Kudla, he never really stood much of a chance. It was a much closer performance for the Aussie, but it still resulted in another del Potro win. The Argentine’s stiffest test came against Jeremy Chardy. The Frenchman was seeded fifth in the tournament and is a top 30 player. However, Chardy looked lost throughout the match and did not pose the threat to del Potro that many thought he would, also succumbing in straights.
Del Potro’s road in Delray Beach came to an end at the hands of Sam Querrey. The American is enjoying a wonderful tournament and setup an all-American final with Rajeev Ram.
Acapulco Still With A Strong Field
The Abierto Mexicano Telcel still boasts a very strong field as one of two ATP 500s to be played this upcoming week, along with Dubai. Both finalists from last year return in David Ferrer and Kei Nishikori. Big servers Marin Cilic, Kevin Anderson, and Ivo Karlovic are also in the field. Semifinalists from Rio and Delray Beach respectively, Dominic Thiem and Grigor Dimitrov are looking to put poor performances behind them with a solid run in Mexico to try and give them some momentum heading into the first two Masters 1000 events of the year in Indian Wells and Miami.