It's been seven years since Juan Martin del Potro last won a Grand Slam tournament. Since then, his body has taken a brutal beating, ravaged by a wrist injury that had reduced his once feared backhand to a shell of its former self. At the 2016 Wimbledon Championships, however, that didn't matter. del Potro stormed back from a set down against Stan Wawrinka on the heels of his suddenly resurgent serve. When all was said and done, del Potro stood the victor 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (2), 6-3.
The Swiss goes up early
del Potro is ranked 165th in the world. So, it goes without saying that not a lot of spectators picked him as the favorite against world number five Wawrinka. For a while, that seemed to be the way the match would go.
Wawrinka converted on a break in just the fourth game of the match and del Potro's second service game. He then followed that up by consolidating on hold when he forced the fifth error off the Argentinian's forehand. The outcome of the match looked quite ominous when Wawrinka smashed a forehand shot into the green grass to claim the first set 6-3.
Worried murmurs of a setback for del Potro's wrist began to settle in.
Undeterred
The second set, however, brought along an ironic change of fortune. It was Wawrinka's turn to lose serve during the fourth game of a set. The unseeded Argentinian then unloaded massive aces throughout the remainder of the set. His serve touched 135 miles per hour at times, staving off any worries of another flare up from a ginger wrist that has already undergone three surgeries.
As Wawrinka sprayed a wry backhand on set point, the crowd burst into jubilation. It seemed very hard for the crowd not to cheer for the unlucky del Potro. Former world number one and three-time Wimbledon champion John McEnroe summed it up best to the British spectators watching on BBC.
I am pulling for Del Potro and every player in the locker room is. No player deserves what he has had in the last three or four years.
Moving on
The third set proved to be the most thrilling on the match. Both players broke serve twice in the first four games. It was an elongated, frenzied affair of trick shots and down-the-line winners.
del Potro would eventually win the set in a tie-break. The big righty had taken a commanding 2-1 lead. He pumped his first as the crowd held their breath, seemingly hoping for what would surely be the biggest upset of the tournament so far.
That crowd would get the upset they clamored for in the fourth and final set of the match. del Potro held serve throughout and pushed Wawrinka to the limit in the sixth game of the set. Though the Swiss number two was able to save both breaks in that sixth game, the world number 165 would come challenging again in Wawrinka's subsequent service game. This time, he converted when he comfortably returned a rally across the net and Wawrinka's backhand failed him again.
On match point, Wawrinka sprayed his umpteenth backhand wide and del Potro threw up his hands in amazement. After three arduous years of injury, he had once again toppled a top five player, and once again accomplished that task at a Grand Slam event. It seemed like old times. Forgotten, in that moment, were the troubles of his wrist. If only for a moment, del Potro would soak in the halcyon feelings of victory over a top opponent.
After the match, his injury-riddle troubles seemed to rush back to him. Speaking to reporters he marveled at his accomplishments on the day, seemingly in amazement of what he had just done.
"I was so happy on court. It's like my second or third career in my short life. I was really sad at home."
If he continues to play like this, del Potro won't be going home for a while.