Topic: Is Del Potro just Andy Roddick without the #1 ranking?

[Babblelot]

They both won the USO at a young age, and they both rely on power games. Once players got used to Roddick's power, they were able to exploit his simple game and expose his weaknesses. I'm not sure Del Potro's story line will be much different. His serve isn't special and his game is simple with little variety, susceptible to dinking and dunking. I don't see him blasting people off the court like he did when his power was new to the tour. He's been healthy for quite some time now but his results have been less than spectacular.

Are you still waiting for him to get his act together? I'm not any longer. I'm thinking his window has passed and he won his one slam.

[Dallas]

You might be on to something.  I mean, looking back in 2003, I never thought almost 10 years later we would still say Roddick has only ONE slam.  Interesting comparison between Del Po and Roddick.  Sometimes Del Po looks like he can beat anyone in the world....then the next match, he looks average.

[Babblelot]

You might be on to something.  I mean, looking back in 2003, I never thought almost 10 years later we would still say Roddick has only ONE slam.  Interesting comparison between Del Po and Roddick.  Sometimes Del Po looks like he can beat anyone in the world....then the next match, he looks average.

But how long ago did we think that? Not at the AO. At no time last year. And he missed all of 2010. I'd say 2009 US Open.

[Alex]

DP is still a dangerous player. I think he is more  a way more versatile player than Roddick, but he'll have a hard time against the top 3. He needs to be faster....

[FedFanForever]

How quickly you are all forgetting how hard Delpo pushed Rafa in the DC final.

[Babblelot]

How quickly you are all forgetting how hard Delpo pushed Rafa in the DC final.

You're right. I don't rate quality losses. I know the quality of his loss to Nadal was much better than the quality of his loss to Baghdatis, but the bottom line is, he's losing matches he needs to win to prove himself worthy of lofty expectation.

 

[swish]

I enjoy following DelPo. 

It's hard to get information on him though, there's just so little out there even after extensive searches.

I don't classify players too much, it draws conclusions that don't apply.

DelPo is a hot subject on tennis forums, all from that 2009 season.
That was three years ago now, but the kind of power game was never seen so followers want to see it again.
It was a different game than what has been brought to tennis before and one of the reasons all the top players regard him so high.

The top players know it can come about at any time, when DelPo just started to hit his stride it came out of nowhere and there was little anyone could do, just too much power and pace.

[monstertruck]

So what's preventing him from winning matches now?

We've all seen what the injury roller coaster can do to a player.
Haas & Blake come to mind immediately.
I hope DPot's career doesn't take us on the same ride.

[sid]

Potty is creeping back up the rankings,ATM he is 10.If he going to get back around the top 5,i think he needs to get back in this year.I would like to see Potty play either Tsonga or Birdman in a Slam this year,before i make my mind up on him & top of the tree.

[Jamesdster]

I hope the comparison to Roddick and only winnig 1 slam does not hold true.  DP at least still slugs the ball around the court.  He hasn't changed that, whereas Roddick decided to change his style of play and he does not even look like the same player anymore.  I am willing to give DP a weeeeee little bit longer of a window before I write him off.

[Babblelot]

At least he's a really likable guy, soft spoken, and actually good for a one-liner every now and then. It would be nice to see him challenge for majors and win some.

[pawan89]

I've been saying this since 2009. He has the power game and besides the fact that it's more power than the other power-players, there's nothing outstanding about his game. He doesn't move nearly well enough to challenge the top 3 consistently. He was a good matchup against Nadal with the power, but that we already knew watching Berdych, Soderling etc play Nadal similarly. I don't think he does too well against Murray and I don't see him doing well against Djokovic or anyone who can return his serve and push him around the court. Simon did it perfectly at the USOpen last year, and sure it was a hot day but in the end, Delpo needs his brutal forehand to click time and time again to win a big match - like happened in USO 2009. I watched the match and personally I blame Federer for letting that fifth set slip only slightly less than I applaud Delpo for hanging in there and catching fire.

I am not saying he isn't going to win more slams or is going to fade away anytime soon, he's a gritty competitor and has that on his side. But I don't see him as being the top tier for an extended period anytime soon. He might even eek out a few slams which will be all the more impressive consiering we have uber-talented guys who dont' do anything better (Murray and the Frenchmen come to mind)

[swish]

So what's preventing him from winning matches now?

We've all seen what the injury roller coaster can do to a player.
Haas & Blake come to mind immediately.
I hope DPot's career doesn't take us on the same ride.

DelPo's game depends on precision, he has little margin for error as his shots just clear the net.
 
If everything isn't working well he'll make errors, that's one of the reasons he'll have problems and won't be consistent.
 
He should be able to get it together for awhile now and then and do well but to keep it up is another story.
 
 

[Babblelot]

I've been saying this since 2009. He has the power game and besides the fact that it's more power than the other power-players, there's nothing outstanding about his game. He doesn't move nearly well enough to challenge the top 3 consistently. He was a good matchup against Nadal with the power, but that we already knew watching Berdych, Soderling etc play Nadal similarly. I don't think he does too well against Murray and I don't see him doing well against Djokovic or anyone who can return his serve and push him around the court. Simon did it perfectly at the USOpen last year, and sure it was a hot day but in the end, Delpo needs his brutal forehand to click time and time again to win a big match - like happened in USO 2009. I watched the match and personally I blame Federer for letting that fifth set slip only slightly less than I applaud Delpo for hanging in there and catching fire.

I am not saying he isn't going to win more slams or is going to fade away anytime soon, he's a gritty competitor and has that on his side. But I don't see him as being the top tier for an extended period anytime soon. He might even eek out a few slams which will be all the more impressive consiering we have uber-talented guys who dont' do anything better (Murray and the Frenchmen come to mind)

 

[monstertruck]

So what's preventing him from winning matches now?

We've all seen what the injury roller coaster can do to a player.
Haas & Blake come to mind immediately.
I hope DPot's career doesn't take us on the same ride.

DelPo's game depends on precision, he has little margin for error as his shots just clear the net.
 
If everything isn't working well he'll make errors, that's one of the reasons he'll have problems and won't be consistent.
 
He should be able to get it together for awhile now and then and do well but to keep it up is another story.

That's a little vague for me Swish.
Care to dig a little deeper?

What do we suppose the reason is for 'everything not working well'?
Lack of practice?
Lack of match play?
Is it mental or physical?
Is it strategic?
Something else?

There's plenty to like about DPot and I'd love to see him sort things out and begin challenging the top players on a consistent basis.  I haven't followed him as closely as some of you folks.  What do you know about his work ethic?  Seems to me, movement and balance would be crucial to a 'precision' player.  Has Juan done the hard yards to ensure that the foundation (lower body) is solid before the Tower (upper body) is built?

[Bazcovic]

Ehm, soon after his USO win, he was injured for 6+ months?
After his wrist injury, he came back from nr. 400+ to the top 15 in less then a year.

Currently, he is top 10. At the end of the year he will possibly be top 5 again.
This guy is amazing.

So, give Del Potro some time, he is still recovering from a career threatening wrist injury.

(Roddick is amazing as well, but unfortunately lost three Wimbledon finals vs. Federer.)

[Richard Miller]

I don't like Roddick one bit, but the guy has 5 GS finals and 9 Masters finals/won 5. Of course Delpo was injured and Roddick is older, but still he has some ways to go. Having one slam is the only thing that doesn't make the comparison totally off, outside that slam, Ferrer has better resume

[Start da Game]

del potro is a lot more than what that transitional fluke slam winner was.......just wait for a couple of years.......

[swish]

So what's preventing him from winning matches now?

We've all seen what the injury roller coaster can do to a player.
Haas & Blake come to mind immediately.
I hope DPot's career doesn't take us on the same ride.

DelPo's game depends on precision, he has little margin for error as his shots just clear the net.
 
If everything isn't working well he'll make errors, that's one of the reasons he'll have problems and won't be consistent.
 
He should be able to get it together for awhile now and then and do well but to keep it up is another story.

That's a little vague for me Swish.
Care to dig a little deeper?

What do we suppose the reason is for 'everything not working well'?
Lack of practice?
Lack of match play?
Is it mental or physical?
Is it strategic?
Something else?

There's plenty to like about DPot and I'd love to see him sort things out and begin challenging the top players on a consistent basis.  I haven't followed him as closely as some of you folks.  What do you know about his work ethic?  Seems to me, movement and balance would be crucial to a 'precision' player.  Has Juan done the hard yards to ensure that the foundation (lower body) is solid before the Tower (upper body) is built?

I don't know, he started off 2011 very well but had an injury and after that his results were sketchy.
 
I try to find out practice schedules for him and information pertaining to his game but can hardly find anything, just a few lines here and there.
 
So it's just a waiting game till he plays again.
 
He has great mental gifts in his game except the serve, sometimes he'll DF at bad times IIRC.
 
I'm not too worried about it and will wait till he plays again, I'll be watching. 
 
 

[monstertruck]

From what little info we can seem to piece together, it sounds like injuries are cutting into effective practice and match play.  I would expect this to limit confidence as well because his game needs to 'redevelop' (for lack of better word) after each rehab.

And so we wait.  (some of us, impatiently!)