In the quarter-finals of Acapulco, Dominic Thiem will face a task that the Lower Austrian has failed just as often in three attempts: Juan Martin del Potro.
This is well known to those who have created their own trademark in tennis, as Juan Martin del Potro has done: the unique forehand oscillator points out without any doubt to the US Open winner of 2009, David Ferrer, his opponent of Acapulco’s last sixteen, David Ferrer. The Spaniard, however, is something like a DelPo expert, had brought a positive balance to his opponent before the last match on Wednesday (local time). All the more reason to estimate the performance of del Potros, who, despite two set losses and an unfamiliar spread, secured his place in the quarter-finals against Dominic Thiem. Also because one game variant worked particularly well: the praise with the backhand. No matter whether played with slice or spin.
And the fans in Mexico were presented with a match that has to go through as the top game of the quarter-finals of the ATP World Tour 500 tournament: The number six in the world hits number nine. And the higher-ranking Dominic Thiem is not necessarily the favourite. After all, Austria’s number one has lost all three games against del Potro, most recently at the US Open in late summer 2017, when Thiem left two match points unused.
Del Potro started the year 2018 with some success, reaching the final in Auckland where he was defeated by Roberto Bautista Agut. The tasks at the Australian Open were challenging from the very beginning, after successes against the promising youngsters Frances Tiafoe and Karen Khachanov, del Potro was defeated in the veteran duel against Tomas Berdych. The Argentinean made his third appearance last week in Delray Beach, where Tiafoe was able to repay the Melbourne defeat.
Dominic Thiem will certainly also take revenge. After his success against Denis Shapovalov, the 24-year-old spoke of an almost perfect match, and a match against del Potro is on the horizon: Shapovalov, the nimble Canadian with the one-handed left backhand, has nothing in common with Juan Martin del Potro. Thiem is now experienced enough to adapt to this playground.
How well the Austrians do it will depend on the serve. Against Shapovalov, Thiem didn’t allow a single break, but against Norrie, the tournament’s number three failed to finish 5-4 in the second set. Compared to the two left-handed players, Juan Martin del Potro is an outstanding return player. The backhand side of the wrist, too, gains more and more confidence in his multiple-operated wrist – the times when del Potro only knew how to help himself with a slice are over.
As far as the support from the ranks is concerned, there is a balanced match: Dominic Thiem, who won 2016 in Acapulco in his first two matches, enjoys great popularity and del Potro is well known the world over. The last encounter at the Grandstand in New York City was a home game for the Argentinean.
Here the single panel in Acapulco