Fittingly for two in-form players, the opening match was a high-quality encounter right from the beginning of the 32-shot rally. PHOTO: AFP
LONDON: Juan Martin del Potro made a winning start to his ATP World Tour Finals campaign as the Argentine came from a set down to beat France’s Richard Gasquet 6-7 (4/7), 6-3, 7-5.
Fourth seed del Potro subdued a lively challenge from Gasquet in two hours and 23 minutes in the opening Group B clash.
The victory was crucial for Del Potro, who faces Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer in his remaining group matches.
“I’m so happy to qualify once again here,” said Del Potro. “I have fantastic memories from Wimbledon and the Olympics and I always play well in London.
“Richard has an unbelievable backhand and he is a good fighter, but in the end I played solid and won. Hopefully I can beat Novak and Roger. It’s going to be really tough, but I don’t have anything to lose against them.”
Del Potro has claimed four titles this year and came desperately close to reaching the Wimbledon final, only for Djokovic to beat him in five sets in the semi-finals.
He arrived in London in good form, with two of his tournament victories coming in the last month in Tokyo and Basel, while he also beat Rafael Nadal to make the final of the Shanghai Masters.
Meanwhile, Gasquet was making his first appearance at the Tour Finals since 2007 after rising to ninth in the world rankings on the back of one of the better seasons in his mercurial career.
Recovery from injury my greatest feat: Nadal
Rafael Nadal admitted his return to the top of the world rankings after battling a serious knee injury is the greatest achievement of his illustrious career.
“It is the most difficult thing I did in my career,” said Nadal. “I came back and won from the beginning and was very soon able to have success in the best tournaments and against the best players.”
However, he is adamant that regaining his position as the sport’s preeminent force means less than the emotions he felt when he triumphed at the Grand Slams at Roland Garros and New York.
“For me the emotions were very high during a lot of tournaments, those moments were more special than being number one,” he said. “I already finished two years at number one in the rankings, so if that happens again great.”
Published in The Express Tribune, November 6th, 2013.
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