Argentina Player Who Once Upset Both Federer And Nadal Returns To The U.S. Open

Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina in action during his victory over Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland in their Gentlemen’s Singles Second Round match today on day five of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 01, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Stephen White/CameraSport via Getty Images)

By NAN Sports Editor

News Americas, White Plains, N.Y., Fri. July 29, 2016: An Argentinean tennis player who is known for  winning the 2009 US Open by defeating  Rafael Nadal in the semi-final and Roger Federer in the final, will be returning to the US Open after a three year absence.

Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro, the 2009 US Open champion, is entered as an alternate. Del Potro, often nicknamed Delpo, was the first to defeat both Federer and Nadal during a major. He was the only man outside the Big Four to win a major between the 2005 French Open and the 2013 US Open, a span of 35 tournaments.

Del Potro is also the second Argentine and the fifth-youngest man to win the US Open in the Open Era. His other career highlight was winning the bronze medal in men’s singles at the London Olympics in 2012.

Del Potro achieved a top-10 ranking by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for the first time on 6 October 2008. In January 2010, he reached a career-high ranking of World No. 4, after which del Potro had to withdraw from most of the tournaments in 2010 due to a wrist injury.

He returned to the ATP World Tour on 15 February 2016, at Delray Beach, after a long injury-induced absence. After missing the French Open in May to focus on the grass season, he entered Wimbledon and was drawn against Frenchman Stephane Robert. He defeated Robert 6-1 7-5 6-0 to set up a second-round match with the 4th seed Stanislas Wawrinka, whom he defeated 3-6 6-3 7-6 6-3.  But he later lost in 4 sets against the 32nd seed Lucas Pouille in the 3rd round.

Del Potro started playing tennis at the age of seven and won his first senior match in 2004 at the age of 15. In 2008, he became the first player in ATP history to win his first four career titles in as many tournaments. He also completed the second-longest winning streak in 2008, and the second longest by a teenager in the Open Era, behind Nadal—with his winning sequence spanning 23 matches over five tournaments.

Del Potro is an offensive baseliner with a very powerful serve and deep, flat, topspin groundstrokes. His forehand is one of his main strengths and possibly the most powerful in the game, capable of frequently generating speeds of 100 mph,[169] and he also possesses a very consistent and powerful double-handed backhand.

The 2016 US Open will be played Monday, August 29, through Sunday, September 11, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y.

Meanwhile, defending US Open champion and world No. 1 Novak Djokovic; world No. 2 and reigning Wimbledon champion Andy Murray; five-time US Open champion and world No. 3 Federer; and two-time US Open champion and world No. 4 Nadal will headline the men’s singles field for the 2016 US Open Tennis Championships. The field includes five former US Open singles champions, including Djokovic (2011, 2015), Murray (2012), Federer (2004-2008), Nadal (2010, 2013) and Marin Cilic (2014).

Each of the world’s top 98 men received direct entry into the US Open, representing 38 countries.

Also included in the men’s singles field are: No. 5 Stan Wawrinka, of Switzerland, the 2014 Australian Open and 2015 French Open champion; No. 6 Kei Nishikori, of Japan, a 2014 US Open finalist; No. 7 Milos Raonic, of Canada, who reached his first Grand Slam singles final at Wimbledon this month; No. 8 Tomas Berdych, of the Czech Republic, a former world No. 4 and 2016 Wimbledon semifinalist; No. 9 Dominic Thiem, the 22-year old Austrian talent; No. 10 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, of France; No. 11 David Goffin, of Belgium; and No. 12 Marin Cilic, the 2014 US Open champion.

Canadian Vasek Pospisil, ranked No. 98, is the last man to receive direct entry into the field of 128.

US Open tickets can be purchased: at USOpen.org; by calling Ticketmaster at 1-866-OPEN-TIX; and at all Ticketmaster outlets.