Juan Martin del Potro will return to the top ten for the first time since August 2014. The 29-year-old Argentinean is in semi-finals at the ATP tournament in Auckland, with youngster Alex de Minaur also making it to the semi-finals in Sydney.
The draw for the Australian Open didn’t exactly mean well with Juan Martin del Potro. The “Tower of Tandil” opens against #NextGen star Frances Tiafoe, followed by Karen Khachanov, Tomas Berdych, David Goffin and defending champions Roger Federer in the quarter-finals.
In order to make the paths less stony in the future, del Potro in Auckland has put things right. Delpo’s entry into the semi-finals gave “Delpo” a leap from rank twelve to ten – equivalent to returning to the Bel Etage after three and a half years of abstinence.
After convincing appearances against the young guard around Denis Shapovalov and Karen Khachanov, del Potro will face seasoned veteran David Ferrer on Friday,”This will be a good match for the fans, our current world ranking positions will not matter,”said the 2009 champion over the Auckland record-breaking tournament winner from Spain.
At the parallel ATP World Tour 250 event in Sydney, the only 18-year-old Australian Alex de Minaur continues to ride the wave of success. After making it to the semi-finals in Brisbane, which he achieved with a remarkable win over ex-Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic, the world’s current number 167 is also in his hometown for the final four.
The moody Frenchman Benoit Paire is waiting there. If the first jump into an ATP final succeeds, the teenager gets to do it with the winner of the match between Daniil Medvedev and Fabio Fognini – happy end and new career high at the sound barrier to the top 100 is not ruled out.
By the way: In Melbourne, de Minaur could meet del Potro in the third round. At the beginning, however, the wildcard holder is served a very hard piece: Tomas Berdych.