I first Biofiled Del Potro about six years ago here at the US Open. The first question I asked him was who were your childhood heroes?
Del Potro answered, “Lleyton Hewitt.”
Whenever the two play, there is always enormous respect given, especially by Delpo to his hero Hewitt.
Tonight was no exception. When the epic five setter was finally concluded, with Hewitt winning 6-1 in the fifth set, Del Potro embraced and spoke well wishes and admiration for his hero.
It was quite clear that part of Del Potro was happy to lose to Hewitt, his hero.
I think it’s very hard for Del Potro to play a player he respects so much like his hero Hewitt and he always struggles to show his best tennis.
Del Potro adores Hewitt and though he surely wants to play his best tennis against his hero Hewitt, there is also a part of him that is content and appreciative to lose to Lleyton Hewitt.
UPDATE:
After the match I popped the first two questions at Del Potro…
Q: Describe the feeling to play your number one her Lleyton Hewitt.
Juan Martin Del Potro: It’s special, but just before the match, when we go to the court, never think about my opponents. I just try to play my game, to feel good myself. I think tonight was a really tough battle for both, but in the end he play better. He play impressive. The tiebreak on the fourth set he made a very good passing shots. I mean what I say before: he’s a great champion and a great fighter. For the second round, it’s a really difficult player.”
Q: Is a little part of you happy to see him win?
Del Potro: Of course not, but I wish all the best. I like when he’s winning and when he’s doing well, he’s healthy. He play like he has a chance to go far in this tournament. Of course, I wish him all the best. I have a good relationship. He’s a very good player to play, and that’s it.
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Mitch · August 30, 2013 at 11:48 pm
Apparently Delpo’s left wrist is bothering him again. They showed a stat on ESPN that he was hitting close to 20% of his backhands with the two hands, compared to close to 80% a few weeks ago.
Dan Markowitz · August 31, 2013 at 1:29 am
Slicing the one handers killed Delpo tonight. The guy can’t be relied on to stay healthy. He just gets hurt continually. Nice guy, though, wouldn’t even kill the butterfly that came onto the court when he was serving tonight.
Harold · August 31, 2013 at 1:33 am
Delpo is the only Argy that likes Hewitt, all the others, are usually spitting saliva, or venom at him
Scoop Malinowski · August 31, 2013 at 10:06 am
Mitch, Del Potro told the Argentine media after the Garcia match about the left wrist but he did not say it to the American media. He told us after losing to Hewitt, “The wrist is not the way what I like but what I say is not excuse. Now I have a few days to rest, to fix my wrist again then see in which tournament I will play next. But I think Lleyton found a way to beat me and he’s a really good win.”
Scoop Malinowski · August 31, 2013 at 10:09 am
That was a praying mantis not a butterfly ) I don’t think it was the wrist or the slices, Hewitt always plays Delpo tough and has the Arnold Schwarzeneggar mental edge on Delpo like Arnold did on Franco Columbo in the Pumping Iron movie. Delpo has too much respect for Hewitt his number one hero of all time. Look at the love Delpo showed Hewitt at the handshake embrace.
Scoop Malinowski · August 31, 2013 at 10:11 am
Harold Monaco and Hewitt are friendly also. But you’re right, Coria, Nalbandian, Chela can’t stand Hewitt. And vice versa.
Dan Markowitz · August 31, 2013 at 10:19 am
Scoop, no way Del Po should lose to Hewitt at this stage in their careers. Del Po is 24 and Hewitt 32. A reporter asked Hewitt when was his last big win and he couldn’t even recall when he’d had a big win. It’s been that long. Del Po is just a one-dimensional player. If he can’t hit you off the court, he’s cooked.
Harold · August 31, 2013 at 11:09 am
Scoop? You talking to yourself?
Author comment by Scoop Malinowski · August 31, 2013 at 10:19 am
Scoop, no way Del Po should lose to Hewitt at this stage in their careers. Del Po is 24 and Hewitt 32. A reporter asked Hewitt when was his last big win and he couldn’t even recall when he’d had a big win. It’s been that long. Del Po is just a one-dimensional player. If he can’t hit you off the court, he’s cooked
Dan Markowitz · August 31, 2013 at 12:36 pm
Sorry, Harold, that’s my mistake. I’ve been posting under Scoop’s log in and forgetting to change he name.
Scoop Malinowski · August 31, 2013 at 1:23 pm
Well Dan Hewitt beat Wawrinka in Wimbledon that classifies as a big win. Before that…yeah it’s been a while. He had some close tough losses, Djokovic at OLY.
Gans · August 31, 2013 at 1:24 pm
I don’t agree that DelPo lost because of some mental edge that Hewitt has over him.
Isn’t it obvious that DelPo was hurt. His left wrist was bothering him to such an extent that he avoided the double handed BH altogether.
Hewitt being a champion that he is simply took advantage of an injured Delpo. If Delpo played his best he would have won it in straights.
Cheers,
Gans
DanM · August 31, 2013 at 2:09 pm
The problem with Delpo, Gans, is since 2009 he’s always been hurt, basically. He plays a good to great match here and there, but when has he had sustained greatness? I thought Delpo would win in straights, too, but I guess the signs were there in Montreal and Cincy that he wasn’t playing his best. Amazing, Delpo, Tsonga out and one wonders if Berdych or Ferrer can bring something else to the table.
Andrew Miller · August 31, 2013 at 3:21 pm
Delpo is the Argentine Roddick for the moment.
Two other non-related things:
* Why are African american females doing pretty well in the up and coming category, but not the african american males? Is it really as simple as a NY Times piece said – youngsters saw Serena on TV?
* Stepanek curse is alive and well. Kvitova’s game is wobbly. It’s directly linked to Steps!
Andrew Miller · August 31, 2013 at 3:36 pm
This tournament is quickly becoming the breakout event for Jack Sock of the US and Dan Evans of the UK. My girl Kirilenko lost miserably, 0 and 1.
Andrew Miller · August 31, 2013 at 3:53 pm
Spoke too soon. I am watching Sock now – I based all my opinion before on his results. Observations: powerful serve, big forehand, but bad backhand; shaky forehand, odd tendency of lining up so far from the service T. He plays from 10 feet behind baseline. Tipsy is running away in the 2nd set tiebreaker, maybe because Tipsy takes the ball earlier, gives himself more of his opponent’s court to work with, takes advantage of some pretty bad drop shots from a wildly shanking Sock. Tipsy has the far more complete game, strategic sense. Maybe Sock will win this in four but that 2nd set was snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
Sock is plenty good, but his game has big problems. And sorry to say but Spadea is right – a player needs to straighten out those technical problems to make it to the kingdom of the tennis elite. Nadal did this – you can see his game is a lot “prettier” than what it was.
Andrew Miller · August 31, 2013 at 4:10 pm
Bit of a cheap shot here in Tipsy getting treatment after serving. Not real fair to Sock.
Does anyone know why Tipsy’s strings are blue? Rare.
DanM · August 31, 2013 at 4:20 pm
I think it is as simple as the fact that Serena and Venus had a seismic impact on young black girls in America. I mean Arthur Ashe had a big effect on black men, as well. Unfortunately, none of them were big time players like Mal Washington, Bryan Shelton, Chip Hooper and Todd Nelson. Kids see someone getting a lot of adulation and breaking barriers and now you’ve got Stephens, Keys, Townsend, Duval and Vickery.
The other reason why you see great black women players and not any men is that great black men athletes in this country tend to play football and basketball not tennis.
DanM · August 31, 2013 at 4:42 pm
You make a very good point, Andrew. Why do the top 2 American young men, Harry and Sock, play so far back behind the baseline? Why can’t the Americans develop a Mannarino or Hewitt or even a Tomic-style player who hugs the baseline and can hit flat backhands down the line?
Sock and Harry are not going anywhere with their positioning on the court. Sock is turning 21 next month. I like his daring-do, but I’ve never seen a player look over at his coach and team as much as him. The way he’s losing to Tipsarevic in the last couple of sets doesn’t bode well for his fight or conditioning against a flagging top player.
gans · August 31, 2013 at 4:51 pm
Scoop, r u blogging while sitting there in the stands and watching Sock match?
Scoop Malinowski · August 31, 2013 at 8:25 pm
Mal Washington made finals of Wimbledon, he was a big time player.
Andrew Miller · August 31, 2013 at 10:38 pm
To Scoop’s point, I liked Mal Washington’s game a lot. One of the few players that Spadea did not beat (Spadea a whole 0-1 on that!). I was pulling for Mal when he played Krajicek.
Certainly a Serena Venus effect as Dan says!
No doubt on the Sock Harrison and playing so far behind the baseline that you may as well be in the stands. Seems like a juniors habit that never quite left them (if you are winning with it, why change?) and that they can’t get away with against players who are good at everything and stand right on the line. You can stand off the baseline to return serve…but at some point you got to step in and take that ball.
Andrew Miller · August 31, 2013 at 11:13 pm
Re: behind the baseline tennis. Even Nadal is embracing life right on the baseline. First strike tennis works.
Scoop Malinowski · September 1, 2013 at 8:15 am
Sock looked like a kid vs. Tipsarevic a battled tested vet. Sock needs to get tougher, free USTA coaching, work harder, Tips probably never got anything handed to him in his tennis life. Sock was in it though, he played a sloppy second set tiebreak and seemed to crumble after that. Tips got tough there and took control.
Andrew Miller · September 1, 2013 at 1:55 pm
Scoop is totally right – Sock was in it then he looked like he was 20 years old whereas Tips looked like the guy who knew what he was doing. Just lured Sock into backhand mistake after backhand mistake and then the Sock forehand began misfiring. Tipsy is just a quirky very effective player. He probably looked across the net and saw a very green version of a new-age Roddick type of player, said to himself he’s beaten Roddick at tournaments like these and knows how to handle players who have a few outstanding technical weaknesses, and just went out and did it.
Call me crazy but I think Kudla can play like Tipsy – Kudla has a more solid all around game than all of the up and coming yanks, and I think he has the discipline to grind out the Socks. I put my chips on Kudla. If Sock and Harrison start playing Giorgi ball then they will start doing damage. I’ll believe it when I see it.