LOS ANGELES — Together they slugged. Juan Martin Del Potro and James Blake, each hoping to write a comeback story of sorts a month from now in Flushing Meadows, wowed a packed house on the other side of the country with some heavy hitting Wednesday night in L.A. And in the end it was Del Potro — the match favorite, if not the crowd favorite — who survived an evening of kamikaze tennis, 6-4, 7-6(3), at UCLA.
“Very tough match,” Del Potro said moments after a series of strong serves carried him through a second-set tiebreaker and into a quarterfinal match against Ernests Gulbis. “I'm really happy to be playing here in [the] United States. I have all my best memories in this country.”
Del Potro won this event in ‘08, at age 19, and then followed that up by winning the Legg Mason Classic in Washington, D.C., a week later. In the summer of ‘09, of course, he then stunned the tennis world by taking down the titans of the sport, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, on consecutive days to win the U.S. Open.
As for 2010, well, that's when the surging Argentine was dealt the bad hand. And perhaps rightfully so, these days he seems to have grown tired of discussing the wrist injury that robbed him of that year and his chance at defending his U.S. Open crown. Earlier in the week, he said he's still asked about the injury so often, it's as if he presses a PLAY button and just starts talking, as if on a loop.
Asked again about his health following Wednesday’s match, Delpo instead spoke about the state of his game, rather than his health. “I think I’m still far away from the top 10 players,” he said. “I know it's a long road to get there.”
He's covering some serious ground, though. Since February, Del Potro's ranking has climbed back from No. 484 to his current No. 19. He's coming off of a quarterfinal showing at Wimbledon, where he pushed Nadal in four sets before succumbing to the eventual runner-up. “I felt at that moment as if I was really back, so close,” Del Potro told the L.A. Times earlier this week.
On the other side of the net stood Blake, who at 31 is more in the twilight of his career but for much of this night played like a man still capable of being very dangerous. Throughout, he countered Del Potro's trademark flat forehands with some ferocious flat heaters of his own. As is often the case with Blake's go-for-broke play, highlight-worthy winners came in bunches. And so did some unforced errors. Mostly, though, the American played well.
When Blake got a look at Del Potro's second serve, he repeatedly stepped inside the baseline and attacked, like he did with a huge forehand to DelPo's feet that resulted in a break of serve to even the second set at 2-2.
Both players then held serve until the tiebreak, when Del Potro seemed to reach for another gear. With Blake serving to open the breaker, Del Potro got a look at the American's second serve and unleashed some huge forehands that put Blake on his heels and eventually forced a backhand error. From there it was the serve that primarily carried DelPo to the finish, as he pelted four of his five first-serve attempts into the box, denying Blake at any more chances to go after his second. The result: three service winners and an ace, while Blake made just one of his five first-serve attempts, winning only two of those points.
For his efforts — he impressively dispatched Michael Berrer in straight sets the night before — Blake left to a standing ovation from a crowd that roared for him throughout the night. Currently at No. 90, the two-time U.S. Open quarterfinalist and always a fan favorite there may have to rely on a wild card berth to get into the tournament.
“I've played my best tennis here in the last three or four weeks. Hopefully, it'll get even better,” Blake said the night before. “I'm having fun out here.”
