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Showered with Applause, Del Potro Acknowledges Crowd During Beautiful U.S. Open Moment


It an absolutely beautiful scene at Arthur Ashe Stadium last night in New York (see outstanding courtside video above). Juan Martin del Potro was out of gas and nearly out of the U.S. Open. The Tower of Tandil has had a magical summer that saw him claim an Olympic Silver medal in what many consider to be one of if not the emotional high point of the tennis season, but he was out of gas and out of options during his quarterfinal with Stan Wawrinka.

Sensing the end of a brilliant run, and wanting to show Del Potro how much they appreciated all of his efforts, Argentinean fans showered Del Potro with a rousing, celebratory standing ovation that lasted over a minute and was thunderous. There were emotions, there was chanting, and there were tears. Afterwards Del Potro told reporters that the gesture from the fans meant more than any victory ever could have.

“Well, something difficult to describe with words,” he said. “I mean, I can lose the match, but I will never forget this. You know, it's bigger than win any match. I'm so proud to get that from the crowd, because I have been doing a big effort to play tennis again. They made me so happy tonight, and I don't mind the score.”

Del Potro says he’s pleased with his progress in 2016, but adds that he is still feeling that he needs to improve physically in order to continue his rise.

“I think my tennis is starting to respond as I want, but physically I'm still down,” he said. “You know, I'm not in the same level that these guys. I need to just to stay healthy and wait for the preseason to get 100 percent for next year.

He will be ranked in the mid-sixties next week, which is quite a meteoric rise, especially when one considers that Del Potro had slipped outside of the Top 1000 during his injury hiatus. “I'm already top 100, so that's good. Never will ask for wildcard anymore,” he said with a smile. “And everything here is positive for me. I'm so glad for that.”

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