By Chris Oddo | Saturday, September 3, 2016
Juan Martin del Potro and Dominic Thiem are two of the most embraceable stars in tennis. They'll square off in a popcorn battle on Day 8.
Photo Source: Elsa/Getty
If you like smashmouth tennis played by extremely humble, soft-spoken men, then the round of 16 tilt between Juan Martin del Potro and No.8-seeded Dominic Thiem is most certainly the one for you.
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Both Del Potro and Thiem possess jaw-dropping physicality. Thiem flies into his shots with reckless abandon, uncorking himself violently and exploding into his shots with guttural grunts. Del Potro winds up with his enormous levers and smack the ball around the court like he’s paddling a green-gazed fraternity pledge.
Del Potro, 27, and Thiem, just turned 23, are the type of players that make grown tennis fans squeal like babies as they marvel at the pace and shape that they can transmit from their racquet head to a helpless, viciously egging tennis ball. But there is another element to these two stars that makes them almost impossible to root against: Humility.
Del Potro is the ultimate gentle giant and when his emotions get the best of him (like, after every win) he gushes like Niagara Falls, giant tears streaming down a giant face. He’s never without a kind word for his opponents, the fans, his compatriots, the Pope or the world. Thiem is the ultimate sportsman. He is frequently spotted giving points to his opponents when he feels like they’ve been wronged by bad calls. He possesses an inherent respect for his opponents and for the game, and Thiem is completely genuine and not overbearing at all.
These are the elements of Del Potro and Thiem that make them two of the most embraceable and compelling storylines of the 2016 tennis season and this year’s U.S. Open.
Del Potro has come back from the edge to arrive here. After three surgeries in a year on his left wrist he wondered if he’d ever get his career back. But something kept pushing him forward. For many months Del Potro graced his fans with motivational videos that showed his progress. Most watched, hopeful, but most also doubted that Del Potro would ever really come back to tennis with the same force that he possessed when he won the U.S. Open in 2009. Even a few months into his comeback this season, there was skepticism about Del Potro’s form and about his ability to stay healthy.
But the 2009 U.S. Open champion soldiered on. He took his time, wisely, and gradually started to use his backhand incrementally more. The shot is not as effective as it once was, but most important is that Del Potro is hitting it pain-free, and he’s hitting it with enough depth and placement so that he can stay at neutral in rallies. Summer might be about to end in New York, but the second summer of Del Potro appears to be just beginning. He won the Silver medal at Rio in what many feel was the most emotionally riveting tennis story of the year, and has come to New York buoyed by a sense of belief.
Many thought Thiem’s summer had come early, at Roland Garros when he reached his first Grand Slam semifinal. Thiem’s winter, we thought, was coming in August. Though he managed a grass-court title in Stuttgart, the Australian hit the wall at Wimbledon and was thrown into the violent surf over over fatigue on the tennis tour for a few months. He stayed afloat, but only barely. A hip injury plagued him. “I can say I just played so many matches it was obvious at one point the body says it's enough now," Thiem said this week when asked about his last few months.
It’s understandable for sure. A season beyond his wildest dreams, one featuring a win over Nadal on clay, a win over Federer on grass plus many deep runs and four titles, forced Thiem into a way-too-heavy schedule, but after emerging from the rough surf in Cincinnati, he seems physically fit and ready to do damage again.
On Saturday both Thiem and Del Potro showed why they may play a big role in the second weeks of Grand Slams over the next few seasons. Thiem is raw and maybe better-suited for clay, but he has proven to be so resilient and so talented, that he can win on any surface. With a remarkable 20-1 record in deciding sets, and a never-say-die attitude, he makes waves on any surface, no matter what speed.
He was shellacked in the opening by Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta on Saturday but responded by trouncing his foe in the next three sets. Impressive.
Del Potro too is skilled on all the surfaces. No player his size moves so well, and his situational decision-making is spot-on under pressure. He can win short rallies, as he prefers, but if he needs to, he has the discipline to play conservatively and take his chances.
He walloped David Ferrer today in straight sets, ripping 37 winners and not facing a break point in the final two sets.
Del Potro scored a straight-sets win over Thiem in Madrid, but in a best-of-five setting the Austrian will certainly have the fitness edge. It promises to be an exciting matchup between two of the game’s giant hitters who also happen to be two of the game’s giant sweethearts.
Come for the brutal, violent aggression, stay for the handshake and mutual respect.