ATP London World Tour Finals Profile: Juan Martin Del Potro

London, England – When Juan Martin Del Potro won the US Open final, upsetting five-time defending champion Roger Federer in a sensational five-set marathon, everyone couldn’t help themselves but look at the moment as the beginning of the end. A new generation in tennis dawned and at its vanguard was the Tandil giant, Del Poop (said with fondness).

Poster boy has however been a bit of a flop lately – to put it mildly. He has won but one complete match since then and it only happened last week, and not so convincingly mind. He needed three sets to take out Marat Safin in his opening match in Paris. The Safin in Paris was not at his former world No.1 and two-time Grand Slam champion best; same guy but a shadow of himself.

That he, Del Poop, has been as hot as tepid English Breakfast tea since Flushing has many (especially Argentine tennis fans) in communal tantrums. So much for ushering in a new generation of bona fide stars! Seems, many were hasty on that score. Sorry pup; better luck next year.

Truth be told, Del Poop has been struggling with injuries since his ground breaking US Open victory. First there was a wrist issue apparently, coupled with a touch of flu in Tokyo. Now there seems to be an abdominal strain. If you ask me there is a healthy dose of psychological issues there as well: coming to terms with what he actually managed to accomplish at Flushing, the magnitude of the feat and the pressure that comes part-and-parcel. Thank you very much.

Road to London:
BetUS Futures tennis odds for Del Potro listed at +750

Season win/loss: 51-14
Since US Open win/loss: 2-3
Titles: Auckland, Washington and US Open
Finalist: Montreal
Grand Slam highlights: Aussie Open quarters, French Open semis; Wimbledon R64; US Open champion
Top ten scalps: Rafael Nadal (Miami semis, Montreal quarters and US Open semis); Andy Murray (Madrid quarters); Jo Wilfried Tsonga (French Open R16); Andy Roddick (Washington Final and Montreal quarters) and Roger Federer (US Open final)

Del Potro Head-to Heads with other World Tour Finals contenders:

Betting Verdict: Everything that Del Potro did on court up to, and including, the US Open final went to advance him as one of the favourites for the World Tour Finals. But that was then. Now, two months later – how quickly things can change – he is in a slump, mainly aided by injuries but certainly smattered with some mental crisis. None of which bodes well for him. The chance of opening a good account in his debut at the World Tour Finals is questionable, if not a long shot.

Prediction: Personally, I wouldn’t be surprised if he retires after a few strikes of the ball. But should he try to stick around, I don’t see him getting past either Djokovic, Davydenko, Murray and yes, even Nadal and Federer (depending on which player is in his group) to the knockout stages. ‘Tis a shame really because it would have been nice to see Del Potro build on his career defining moment of Flushing at London. Healthy Del Poop would have been a steal at +750; then again he would have most likely been cast more favorably in the field. Under current circumstances, he is a non-play in my opinion.