Berdych Beats Del Potro at BNP Paribas Open

Czech tennis player Tomas Berdych advances in second round of ATP BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells) 2016. Tonight he defeats argentinian Juan Martin del Potro in straight sets (7-6; 6-2). Next round Berdych will meet winner of Borna Coric vs. Thomaz Belluci

Del Potro Reflects After Indian Wells Win

Juan Martin del Potro reflects on beating Tim Smyczek on Thursday at the BNP Paribas Open.

Source: ATP World Tour

Del Potro Sets Berdych Clash; Coric Advances

In just the second tournament of his comeback, Juan Martin del Potro enjoyed an emphatic 6-4, 6-0 victory over American qualifier Tim Smyczek on Thursday in the first round of the BNP Paribas Open.

The 27-year-old Argentine recently played his first tournament in almost a year when he reached the semi-finals in Delray Beach (l. to Querrey). The right-hander is on the comeback from wrist surgeries and looking for a return to top form at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, where he finished runner-up on his last appearance in 2013 (l. to Nadal).

Del Potro dismissed Smyczek in just 69 minutes, winning 75 per cent of his service points and breaking serve four times. The Tandil native sets a blockbuster second-round clash with sixth seed Tomas Berdych.
#NextGen star Borna Coric made a strong start to his BNP Paribas Open campaign, defeating Lucas Pouille 6-2, 7-5.
Kyle Edmund almost became the second #NextGen player to advance. The Briton served for the match at 5-3 in the third set, but ultimately fell 6-7(3), 6-4, 7-5 to Guido Pella. Korea’s Hyeon Chung, 19, also lost in three sets, falling 2-6, 6-0, 6-3 to Albert Ramos-Vinolas.

American qualifier Ryan Harrison advanced with a 6-3, 7-6(3) victory over Dusan Lajovic. The 23-year-old Harrison, who announced his engagement this week, goes on to face 10^th seed Marin Cilic, whom he beat for the first time last month in Acapulco.

Rajeev Ram won an all-American contest with Noah Rubin, beating the 20 year old 7-6(3), 7-6(2) in just under two hours.
Leonardo Mayer advanced to a second-round clash with 20^th seed Viktor Troicki as he defeated Sam Groth 6-4, 6-3, limiting the big-serving Australian to just five aces.
Milos Raonic will open his campaign against Inigo Cervantes, who won an all-Spanish clash with Nicolas Almagro 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 in just under two hours. Second seed Andy Murray and 13^th seed Gael Monfils will also face Spaniards in their opening matches after Marcel Granollers defeated Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-0 and Pablo Carreno Busta beat Evgeny Donskoy 6-3, 6-4.
Third seed Stan Wawrinka will face Illya Marchenko in his opening second-round match after the Ukrainian converted three of his 11 break points to edge Dmitry Tursunov 7-5, 7-6(6) in just over two hours.
Meanwhile Federico Delbonis set a clash with Joao Sousa after beating Santiago Giraldo 6-3, 7-6(5).
Later on day one of the men’s action, 2013 runner-up Juan Martin del Potro takes to Stadium 1 to face American qualifier Tim Smyczek.

Source: BNP Paribas Open

Querrey Beats Del Potro to Reach Final

Juan Martin del Potro’s return to tennis fell short of a fairytale ending on Saturday as the Argentine lost to American Sam Querrey 7-5 7-5 in the semi-final of the Delray Beach Open.
The former U.S. Open champion Del Potro made his comeback at Delray Beach after an 11-month layoff following two surgeries on his left wrist.
He had looked strong in his run to the semi-finals but Querrey checked his momentum by breaking his powerful serve in each set at 5-5 -- the only two breaks of the match.
Del Potro, 27, was aiming to recapture his magic at Delray Beach where he enjoyed comeback success by winning the 2011 title after fighting his way back form wrist surgery.
Former world number four Del Potro, who stunned none other than Roger Federer in the 2009 final at Flushing Meadows, has been frustrated by a succession of injuries since his sole grand slam title.
Ranked outside the top 1,000 at Delray Beach, he showed flashes of his old form, displaying good court coverage and growing confidence in his groundstrokes throughout the week save for two poor service games against Querrey.
Querrey will face Rajeev Ram in the final after the American upset fourth seed Grigor Dimitrov 6-4 6-3 in the other semi-final.

Source: Reuters

Juan martin del Potro Reaches Semifinals

Juan Martin del Potro is inching ever closer to the level of the top-five player he was three years ago.

The Argentine player reached his first ATP semifinal in more than two years, beating fifth-seeded Jeremy Chardy of France 6-2, 6-3 on Friday night in the Delray Beach Open.

Del Potro, once ranked No. 4 in the world but now No. 1,041 because of an 11-month layoff following two surgeries on his left wrist last year, will play unseeded American Sam Querrey in the semifinals.

In a sign of his growing confidence, del Potro relied more heavily on his two-handed backhand rather than the more dependable one-handed slice he used in his first two matches. Though admittedly fatigued, the 27-year-old Argentine dominated the court, moving fluidly and setting up his hallmark forehand down-the-line winners.

"He put me on the defensive and against these top 30 players you cannot use slice all the time," said del Potro, who also admitted to feeling less jittery than he did in his previous matches. "I actually prefer to feel nervous to how I feel right now which is just tired."

Querrey squeaked past wild-card Tim Smyczek 6-7 (1), 7-6 (4), 6-4 in 2 hours, 29 minutes, denying the 28-year-old Wisconsin player his first career tour-level semifinal. Smyczek was one game away, leading 6-5 in the second set before Querrey won the tiebreaker and then broke in the final game of the match.

American Rajeev Ram saved five break points in the crucial eighth game of the second set and beat Germany's Benjamin Becker 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in windy conditions in another quarterfinal.

The 31-year-old Ram will face fourth-seeded Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria in the semifinals. The 24-year-old Dimitrov beat eighth-seeded Adrian Mannarino of France 6-4, 7-5.

Ram had two double faults in the whippy wind to give Becker break chances at 4-4 in the second set. But the 6-foor-4 Ram erased one with an ace and held with a service winner.

So difficult were the conditions that, in the third game of the third set, Ram hit a serve that Becker returned deep of the baseline. But, as Ram tried to jump out of the way, the ball hit his foot, awarding the point to Becker.

Ram was also bolstered by the pro-American crowd which clapped between serves and continually called out "Ram it", much to the dismay of chair umpire Zsolt Beda. After repeatedly attempting to calm the throng, the Hungarian official finally implored, "Thank you ladies and gentleman, we get the joke."

Ram admitted later that the comment made him laugh out loud.

Dimitrov broke Mannarino in the final game of both sets to reach his second ATP semifinal of the year. In January, Dimitrov lost to Victor Troicki in the final of the ATP event in Sydney.

"It was so swirly out there that I only practiced for 20 minutes," said Dimitrov of the wind that has wreaked havoc all week. "You just have to stay focused and get the job done."

Juan Martin del Potro Into Quarterfinals

Juan Martín del Potro, the 2009 United States Open champion and former world No. 4, beat the qualifier John-Patrick Smith, 6-4, 6-4, to advance to the quarterfinals of the Delray Beach Open in Florida. Out for 11 months because of a left wrist injury that took two operations to repair, del Potro won consecutive matches for the first time since he reached the quarterfinals in Sydney in January 2015.

Juan Martin del Potro was tired, sore and still nervous about being back in competition.The 27-year-old Argentine had reason to celebrate, too, after beating Australian qualifier John-Patrick Smith 6-4, 6-4 on Thursday night to advance to the Delray Beach Open quarterfinals.
Out for 11 months because of a left wrist injury that took two surgeries to repair, Del Potro won consecutive matches for the first time since he reached the quarterfinals in Sydney in January 2015.
Smith attempted to exploit del Potro's backhand, a shot that the Argentine has had to alter from his customary two-hander to a one-handed slice due to the injury. But del Potro was quick enough to run around the backhand and pummel forehands deep into the court.
"I need to improve my backhand as soon as I can," said del Potro, the 2009 U.S. Open champion and former world No. 4. "He kept making me hit backhands down the line and I don't have the confidence to do that."
Del Potro will face fifth-seeded Jeremy Chardy of France. Chardy fought through swirling wind to beat 19-year-old American wild-card Noah Rubin 6-4, 6-2. Chardy joined fourth-seeded Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria as one of only two seeded players left in the draw.
Tim Smyczek set up another quarterfinal against fellow American Sam Querrey.
Smyczek was entered in the qualifying tournament for the event when he learned American teenager Taylor Fritz had earned a special exemption into the main draw by virtue of reaching the semifinals at the ATP event in Memphis last week.
Smyczek was given the wild card instead and he promptly beat Fritz in the first round. He followed with a win over seventh-seeded Donald Young 1-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2 to reach only the second tour-level quarterfinal of his career. The 28-year-old Tampa resident has never reached a semifinal.
Young led Smyczek 6-1, 3-1 before two costly double faults in the sixth game gave the break back.
"I was feeling good mentally even though I was getting my butt kicked," said Smyczek. "I was just trying to figure out a way to disrupt his rhythm."
Querrey, bolstered by 10 aces, including three in a row at the end of the match, defeated another American, Austin Krajicek, 6-4, 6-3.

Juan Martin del Potro Returns with a Win

Juan Martin del Potro thrust his arms into the air, blew a kiss skyward and began tossing his sweat-soaked wristbands into the crowd.
This was one sweet victory for the Argentine as he beat American Denis Kudla 6-1, 6-4 in the first round of the Delray Beach Open on Tuesday in his first ATP match in 11 months following a left wrist injury.
Del Potro's win was a relief to tournament organizers after their top two seeds each had a quick exit.
Kevin Anderson, the No 1 seed and 2012 champion, was forced to retire from his match against Austin Krajicek due to a right shoulder injury.
Hours later, second-seeded Bernard Tomic of Australia lost to American Rajeev Ram, 7-6 (3), 6-1.
Del Potro, 27, played just four matches last year and 10 in 2014. He has faced four surgeries - one on his right wrist and three on his left - since defeating Roger Federer in the 2009 U.S. Open final.