Junior years Del Potro played his first junior match in April 2003 at the age of 14 at a Grade-2 tournament in Italy. As a junior in 2002, del Potro won the
Orange Bowl 14s title, beating
Marin Čilić en route to a victory over Pavel Tchekov in the final. In 2003, at the age of 14, del Potro received
wildcards to three
ITF Circuit events in Argentina, where he lost in
straight sets in the first round of each. As a junior, del Potro reached as high as No. 3 in the combined ITF junior world rankings, in January 2005.
2004–2005: Early career In May 2004, del Potro won his first senior match, at the age of 15, at the ITF Circuit event in
Buenos Aires by defeating Matias Niemiz. He then went on to lose in three sets to
Sebastián Decoud in the second round. Del Potro saw his world ranking rise from No. 1441 in August to No. 1077 in November. He also reached the finals in the Argentina Cup and
Campionati Internazionali D'Italia Junior tournaments. Del Potro reached his first final of the ITF Junior Circuit on 11 January 2005, the "Copa del Cafe (Coffee Bowl)" Junior ITF Tournament in Costa Rica, where he lost to
Robin Haase in three sets. Because of the rain delays, the final set had to be played indoors; the first time the
indoor courts had been used in the 44-year history of the youth tournament. At the age of 16, del Potro reached his first senior singles final at the
Futures tournament in Berimbau Naucalpan, Mexico, where he lost to
Darko Mađarovski. He then went on to win consecutive titles at two Future ITF Circuit events in
Santiago, Chile, including the 26th International Junior tournament. In the first tournament, he beat
Jorge Aguilar, and in the second, he did not drop a set in the whole tournament and defeated
Thiago Alves in the final, a player ranked more than 400 places higher at the time. He won his third title in his home country by defeating
Damián Patriarca, who forfeited the match, at the ITF Circuit event in Buenos Aires. Del Potro turned professional in June 2005 and in his first professional tournament, the
Lines Trophy Challenger tournament in
Reggio Emilia, he reached the semifinals, where he lost to countryman
Martín Vassallo Argüello in three sets. Two tournaments later, he reached the final of the
Credicard Citi MasterCard Tennis Cup in Campos do Jordão, Brazil where he lost to
André Sá in straight sets. After turning 17, he won the
Montevideo Challenger by defeating
Boris Pašanski in the final in three sets. Throughout 2005, del Potro jumped over 900 positions to finish with a world ranking of No. 157, largely due to winning three Futures tournaments. He was the youngest player to finish in the year-end top 200.
2006: Top 100 In February, del Potro played his
first ATP Tour event in Viña del Mar, where he defeated
Albert Portas, before losing to
Fernando González in the second round. Later, seeded seventh, he won the Copa Club Campestre de Aguascalientes by defeating the likes of
Dick Norman and
Thiago Alves, before beating
Sergio Roitman in the final. Del Potro qualified for the main draw of his first major in the
2006 French Open at the age of 17. He lost in the opening round to former French Open champion and 24th seed
Juan Carlos Ferrero. Having received a wildcard, he reached the quarterfinals of the
ATP event in Umag, Croatia, where he lost in three sets to the eventual champion,
Stanislas Wawrinka. In Spain, he participated in the
Open Castilla y León Challenger tournament held in Segovia, defeating top seed
Fernando Verdasco in the quarterfinals and
Benjamin Becker in the final. Del Potro qualified for his first
US Open in 2006, where he lost in the first round to fellow qualifier
Alejandro Falla of Colombia in four sets. He qualified for his first
ATP Masters Series tournament in Spain, the
Madrid Open, where he lost in the first round to
Joachim Johansson. Del Potro finished 2006 as the youngest player in the top 100, aged 18 years, 2 months. He then reached the second round of the
Australian Open, where he had to retire because of injury in his match against eventual finalist Fernando González in the fifth set. Del Potro defeated
Feliciano López before losing to eventual semifinalist
Mardy Fish in the second round of the indoor
Regions Morgan Keegan Championships. In his next ATP Masters event, he reached the second round of the
Pacific Life Open, beating
Gustavo Kuerten in the first round, but then losing to
Richard Gasquet. Del Potro went further in the
Miami Open, reaching the fourth round, after he defeated three top-50 players:
Jonas Björkman,
Marcos Baghdatis, and
Mikhail Youzhny, before falling to
Rafael Nadal in two sets. In May, he lost in the first round of the
French Open to eventual champion Nadal. In his first grass-court event, del Potro beat
Thomas Johansson and lost to Nadal in the second round at the
Queen's Club. He also reached the quarterfinals in
Nottingham the following week; there he beat British qualifier
Jamie Baker and Kunitsyn, but lost to
Ivo Karlović in the quarterfinals. At his inaugural
Wimbledon Championships, he defeated
Davide Sanguinetti, before losing to eventual champion Roger Federer in the second round. Del Potro lost to
Frank Dancevic in three sets in the second round of the singles at the
ATP event in
Indianapolis. At the same event, partnered with
Travis Parrott in doubles, he won his first doubles tournament, defeating
Teymuraz Gabashvili and Karlović in the final. He regards this as a special victory, "It was fantastic to play doubles with Parrott. I'm so happy because I've never won a doubles tournament. For the rest of my life, I will remember this tournament." Del Potro qualified for the
ATP Masters Series event in Cincinnati, where he reached the third round. He defeated countryman
Guillermo Cañas in the first round and
Philipp Kohlschreiber in the second, before losing to former world No. 1,
Carlos Moyá. At that year's
US Open, he defeated
Nicolas Mahut and Melzer, before losing to eventual finalist and third seed
Novak Djokovic in the third round. He also reached the third round of the
Madrid Masters by beating
Potito Starace and
Tommy Robredo, before losing to eventual champion
David Nalbandian, in straight sets. In the last tournament of the year, the
Paris Masters, he reached the second round, where he lost to
Nikolay Davydenko. At the
Australian Open in January, he retired against
David Ferrer in round two due to an injury. Del Potro returned to the circuit in March, winning his first match against
Jesse Levine at the
Miami Open, before losing in the second round to López. Struggling with injuries, his ranking fell as low as no. 81 in April. "At the start of the year, I was playing good, but I had many injuries, many problems with my body, with my physique", said del Potro. "I changed my coach, changed my physical trainer, I changed everything." In May, del Potro had to retire again, this time in a first-round match against
Andy Murray at the
Rome Masters. During the second set, the Argentine allegedly made derogatory comments about Murray's mother which resulted in a complaint to the umpire. Del Potro's serve was subsequently
broken three times in a row, and he suffered a back injury, which caused his retirement. In his second major of the year, the
French Open, he was eliminated in the second round by
Simone Bolelli in four sets. For the second year in a row, he was knocked out of
Wimbledon in the second round; he beat
Pavel Šnobel, but lost to
Stanislas Wawrinka. A week later, del Potro reached his second career ATP Tour final at the
Austrian Open in Kitzbühel, where he beat local hope and sixth seed Melzer in less than an hour, to claim his second title in two weeks. Having competed in just two clay tournaments all of the 2007 season, he never thought he would win his first two titles on clay courts. After the match, Roddick praised his opponent. "[Del Potro] hits this way and this way kind of equally and he can hit it from inside out and running to it, which is a good thing for him, bad for the rest of us". "I don't really understand what I did. It is difficult to believe that I have won four consecutive titles", del Potro said, crediting coach
Franco Davín for his impressive run. "He changed my game. He changed my mind. He changed everything. When I play and I see him in the stands, it gives me confidence. I can play relaxed." He went on to defeat Japanese teenager
Kei Nishikori in straight sets. In the quarterfinals, he was stopped by eventual finalist Murray, losing after almost four hours. The defeat came after 23 consecutive victories: the second-longest winning streak in 2008 and the longest winning streak by a player outside the top 10 in the last 20 years. Del Potro was selected to play his first home-based
Davis Cup tie, between
Argentina and
Russia. He beat Davydenko in three sets and also won the fifth and deciding match against
Igor Andreev in straight sets, booking Argentina a place in the final. At the
Japan Open, he made the final by defeating 11th seed
Jarkko Nieminen, top seed and defending champion Ferrer, and fourth seed
Richard Gasquet. He was defeated by
Tomáš Berdych in the final. At the
Madrid Masters, he lost in the quarterfinals in straight sets to
Roger Federer. He reached the semifinals of his next tournament, the
Swiss Indoors, before losing to countryman Nalbandian. He was beaten by Nalbandian again in his next tournament, in the second round of the
Paris Masters. Del Potro blamed fatigue for his defeat, "It's difficult to play the last tournament of the year. I was tired, my mind was in Argentina [the venue for the Davis Cup final]". This left del Potro's qualification for the
2008 Tennis Masters Cup out of his hands, but
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat
James Blake in the semifinals, which was enough to ensure his place at the year-end event. Del Potro won one match at the Masters Cup, against Tsonga, but lost his other two matches against the higher-ranked Djokovic and Davydenko, meaning that he exited the tournament in the
round-robin stage. He went on to lose one match in the
Davis Cup final, against López, as his team succumbed to a 3–1 loss against
Spain. He withdrew from his second match due to a thigh injury and was replaced by
José Acasuso. Nonetheless, del Potro enjoyed a successful season; winning four titles and finishing 2008 as the youngest player in the top 10,
2009: US Open champion, ATP Tour Finals final, top 5 Del Potro began his
2009 season at the
Auckland Open in New Zealand as the top seed. He defeated American
Sam Querrey in the final to win the title, the fifth of his career. Seeded eighth at the
Australian Open, he beat
Marin Čilić in the fourth round before losing in straight sets to Federer. At
Indian Wells, del Potro lost in the quarters to world No. 1 Nadal. Del Potro avenged that loss the following week at the
Miami Open, where he came back from a double break down in the third set at 0–3 to defeat Nadal in the quarterfinals. This was the first time del Potro had defeated Nadal in five meetings. Despite a loss in the semifinals to Murray, In
Rome, del Potro beat
Victor Troicki and Wawrinka to advance to the quarterfinals, where he was defeated by defending champion Djokovic in straight sets. This meant del Potro's head-to-head record with the Serb was now 0–3. At the
Madrid Masters, Del Potro beat Murray for the first time in the quarterfinals, but lost to Federer in the semifinals. He then defeated three-time former quarterfinalist
Tommy Robredo to get to his first semifinal of a Grand Slam. He was defeated in a close semifinal, where he was leading by a set twice, by eventual champion Federer who, after their match, said: "[Del Potro] is young and strong, I have a lot of respect for him." Prior to this encounter, del Potro had never taken a set from Federer in their five previous career meetings. At the
2009 Wimbledon Championships, he lost to unseeded
Lleyton Hewitt in the second round. In the
Davis Cup quarterfinal against the
Czech Republic, del Potro won his matches against
Ivo Minář and Berdych in straight sets, but Argentina still lost the tie 2–3. A few weeks later, he defeated Hewitt and
Fernando González en route to the
Washington final. He successfully defended his title against top-seeded Wimbledon finalist Andy Roddick to win his second tournament of the year and become the first player since
Andre Agassi to win back-to-back Washington titles. At the
Masters 1000 in
Montreal, he beat world No. 2 Nadal in the quarterfinals, his second consecutive win over Nadal. He then defeated Roddick in the semifinals, saving a match point, to advance to his first Masters 1000 final, and to improve his head-to-head record against Roddick to 3–0. In the final, he lost against Murray in three sets. Seeded sixth at the
US Open, del Potro began by defeating
Juan Mónaco and
Jürgen Melzer in straight sets, before dropping a set but defeating Köllerer to reach the fourth round. He defeated a resurgent Juan Carlos Ferrero to advance to the quarterfinals for the second consecutive year. Del Potro then advanced to the semifinals by defeating
Marin Čilić. Del Potro was down a set and a break, before winning 17 of the final 20 games to win the match. His advance to the semifinals ensured his return to the top 5 in the rankings. He then crushed world No. 3 and reigning Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal in the semifinals, to reach his first Grand Slam final. This was his third consecutive victory over Nadal and made him the first Argentine to reach a Grand Slam singles final since
Mariano Puerta at the
2005 French Open. In the final, del Potro rallied from a set and a break down to defeat world No. 1 and five-time defending champion
Roger Federer in five sets; his first victory over Federer after six previous defeats, He became the first player since countryman
David Nalbandian to defeat Federer at the US Open, and at 198 cm (6 ft 6 in), he is the tallest ever Grand Slam champion, a record he now shares with
Marin Čilić, the
2014 US Open winner, and
2021 champion
Daniil Medvedev. Besides Nadal and Djokovic, del Potro is the only player to defeat Federer in a Grand Slam final, and the first player to defeat both Nadal and Federer in the same Grand Slam tournament.
Dick Enberg hosted the post-match ceremony, during which a victorious del Potro requested to address his fans in Spanish. Enberg declined the request, saying that he was running out of time, but went on to list the corporate sponsored prizes del Potro won. A couple of minutes later, del Potro made the same request again, and only then did Enberg relent saying, "Very quickly, in Spanish, he wants to say hello to his friends here and in Argentina." An emotional del Potro finally spoke a few sentences in Spanish to a cheering crowd. Many viewers expressed disappointment with Enberg and broadcaster
CBS over the interview. On return to his hometown Tandil, del Potro was greeted by an estimated 40,000 people. In his first match since the US Open, del Potro was upset by world No. 189,
Édouard Roger-Vasselin, in straight sets at the
Japan Open in Tokyo. He then lost his second straight match to Melzer in the second round at the Masters 1000 event in
Shanghai, retiring while trailing in the second set. This retirement caused concerns over the length of the tennis season. He had to retire again in the
Paris Masters quarterfinals when down 0–4 to
Radek Štěpánek due to an abdominal injury. At the
ATP World Tour Finals in November, he lost his first round-robin match against Andy Murray, but he beat
Fernando Verdasco in his second match to keep his hopes alive. After defeating
Roger Federer in the following match, he qualified for the semifinals, ousting Murray by one game, the slimmest possible margin. He defeated
Robin Söderling in the semifinals, before losing to Nikolay Davydenko in the final. Del Potro finished 2009 as the youngest player in the top 10, top-ranked Argentine, and highest-ranked South American for the second consecutive year.
2010: First wrist injury, out of top 250 Del Potro started his 2010 season at the
AAMI Kooyong Classic in Melbourne, Australia, with a win over Croatian world No. 24
Ivan Ljubičić. On 11 January, he moved up to a career high world No. 4. He was scheduled to face Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on day 2 of the Kooyong Classic exhibition tournament, but withdrew due to a wrist injury. He came into the
2010 Australian Open with the injury not healed, and took a month off after the event, where he lost in the fourth round to
Marin Čilić. Following the Australian Open loss, del Potro missed several tournaments, including the
Masters tournaments at
Indian Wells and
Miami, which were touted as potential return dates, He then withdrew from
Barcelona and the
Rome Masters. On 4 May, del Potro took the option of having an operation to fix the injury. On 19 May, del Potro said he would not defend his
US Open title, but if all went well, he would appear after the event, targeting the Paris Masters as a possible comeback. However, on 22 July, the USTA stated that del Potro was expected to defend his
US Open crown. The player himself confirmed that his comeback to the tour would be the
Thailand Open and said nothing about the New York event. On 2 August, del Potro returned to the practice courts. A week before the start of the US Open, after practicing for two weeks, del Potro withdrew from the event, for he felt he was not ready to compete at the highest level. After the nine-month break, del Potro confirmed that he would make his return at the
Thailand Open. In his return match, he lost in the first round in two sets to
Olivier Rochus, despite serving 16 aces. He then also played at the
Japan Open, but again lost in the opening round, this time to
Feliciano López.
2011: Return to tour, second Davis Cup final Del Potro began his 2011 season at the
Sydney International as a wildcard entry. In the second round, del Potro was defeated by
Florian Mayer of Germany in straight sets, despite winning against sixth seed
Feliciano López in three sets in the first round. His next tournament would be the first Grand Slam of the year at the
2011 Australian Open, where del Potro was defeated by 21st seed
Marcos Baghdatis in the second round. As a result, del Potro slipped further down the rankings to No. 485. Del Potro's next scheduled tournament was the
U.S. National Indoor Championships, where he was accepted into the main draw via a wildcard, losing to top seed and eventual champion
Andy Roddick. Del Potro entered the
Delray Beach International Tennis Championships on a wildcard. He defeated
Ričardas Berankis,
Teymuraz Gabashvili,
Kevin Anderson and second-seeded
Mardy Fish, to advance to his first ATP final since the 2009 World Tour Finals. In the final, he defeated an erratic Janko Tipsarević in two sets. Del Potro's next tournament was the ATP Masters at the
Indian Wells Masters. He reached the semifinals, where he lost to top-seeded
Rafael Nadal in straight sets. At the
Miami Masters he defeated world No. 4,
Robin Söderling, in straight sets in round three, before losing to eventual semifinalist
Mardy Fish in straight sets in round four. In
Estoril Open del Potro defeated top-seeded
Robin Söderling, two time French Open finalist, and dropped just one set in his five matches and took the title against Fernando Verdasco in the final. After suffering an 8-millimeter tear in his left
rectus abdominis, del Potro withdrew from
Madrid Open and did not participate in the
Internazionali BNL d'Italia, but confirmed that he would play the
French Open. There he lost in the third round in four sets to second-seeded Novak Djokovic. Del Potro reached the fourth round at
Wimbledon for the first time by defeating
Flavio Cipolla,
Olivier Rochus, and
Gilles Simon but lost in four sets to world No. 1, Rafael Nadal, a match described by The Guardian as the "battle of walking wounded". Del Potro returned to the top 20 at world No. 19 for the first time in nearly a year. His next tournament was the
Los Angeles Open in late July, where he received a first-round bye as the second seed. He defeated
James Blake but lost to
Ernests Gulbis in the quarterfinals. At the
Canada Masters, del Potro defeated
Jarkko Nieminen before losing to Marin Čilić in the second round. At the
Cincinnati Masters tournament, del Potro lost to Roger Federer, snapping the two-match winning streak he had against his rival. Del Potro entered the
2011 US Open seeded 18th. He beat
Filippo Volandri and
Diego Junqueira before losing to
Gilles Simon in the third round. After the US Open, del Potro played in the
Davis Cup semifinal against Serbia, winning both of his rubbers against Janko Tipsarević and world No. 1, Novak Djokovic. This helped Argentina to a 3–2 victory over Serbia, booking their place in the final. In October he lost in the second round of
Stockholm Open to
James Blake. He then reached the final in
Vienna, losing for the first time to Tsonga. Del Potro then reached the semifinals of the
Valencia Open 500, losing to eventual champion
Marcel Granollers. He then withdrew from the
Paris Masters due to a shoulder injury, wiping out his chances of qualifying for the
year-end championships. Del Potro played in the
Davis Cup final in
Seville, losing the second rubber to
David Ferrer, despite being two sets to one up, in a match lasting over five hours. With his country down 2–1, del Potro needed to beat
Rafael Nadal in the reverse singles to keep the tie going. Del Potro dominated the first set, but could not keep his level up and lost in four sets. For the third time in six years, Argentina lost in the finals of the Davis Cup World Group, this time 3–1.
2012: Olympic bronze, back to top 10 medals award ceremony (from right to left≥: Del Potro, Andy Murray and Roger Federer) Del Potro's first tournament of the year was the
Sydney International, where he was the top seed. He made it to the quarterfinals after receiving a bye into the second round. He defeated
Łukasz Kubot in the second round. In the quarterfinals, he was beaten by
Marcos Baghdatis. In the first round of the
Australian Open, del Potro defeated
Adrian Mannarino in four sets. He reached the quarterfinals of the Grand Slam for the second time, losing to third-seeded Roger Federer in straight sets. At
ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in
Rotterdam, he defeated
Tomáš Berdych, reaching his first final of an ATP 500 level tournament or higher after returning from his wrist injury in 2010. He lost to Federer in straight sets in the final. At the Open 13 in Marseille, del Potro defeated Davydenko, Gasquet, Tsonga, and
Michaël Llodra in the final to win his tenth ATP title. At
Dubai, he lost in the semis to Federer again in two tiebreaks. Del Potro lost in the quarterfinals of the
Indian Wells Open to Federer for the fourth time that year. He made it to the fourth round of the
Miami Open, but lost to David Ferrer in two sets. Del Potro started his clay-court campaign of 2012 in the
Davis Cup quarterfinals against Croatia. He won his first rubber against
Ivo Karlović and then defeated
Marin Čilić in the reverse singles. At the
Estoril Open, he was the defending champion and the top seed. He did not drop a set en route to the final, where he beat Frenchman
Richard Gasquet in straight sets to collect his 11th ATP title. At
Madrid Masters he defeated
Florian Mayer,
Mikhail Youzhny, Marin Čilić and
Alexandr Dolgopolov, but lost in two tiebreaks to
Tomáš Berdych in the semifinals. At the
French Open, where he was seeded ninth, Del Potro defeated
Albert Montañés,
Édouard Roger-Vasselin, Marin Čilić and seventh seed Tomáš Berdych before losing to Roger Federer in the quarterfinals in five sets, after being up two sets to love. At
Wimbledon, del Potro beat
Robin Haase,
Go Soeda, and
Kei Nishikori, before losing to David Ferrer in the fourth round. At the
Olympic Games, also held at the
All England Club in Wimbledon, del Potro faced Federer in the semifinals, which resulted in the longest "best of three sets" tennis match by duration in history, lasting four hours and 26 minutes; the final set took two hours and 43 minutes. Del Potro lost the match, by 17–19 in the third set. Less than two hours after this marathon, del Potro took to the tennis court again with
Gisela Dulko for their quarterfinal
mixed doubles match against
Lisa Raymond and
Mike Bryan, which they lost. Two days later, del Potro defeated Djokovic in the bronze-medal match. It was del Potro's first victory over Djokovic, excluding a win that occurred in the
Davis Cup where Djokovic retired after dropping the first set. Del Potro returned to hard courts to play at the
Rogers Cup, where he was upset by 33-year-old world No. 40
Radek Štěpánek. Del Potro ended the illustrious career of American tennis star Andy Roddick, retiring him by winning their fourth round match before going on to lose in the quarterfinals of the
US Open against Djokovic. In October, del Potro beat qualifier
Grega Žemlja to win the
Erste Bank Open in Vienna. He then beat Roger Federer in a third set tie-break to win the
Swiss Indoors title, in Basel. The following week, he suffered a third-round loss to
Michaël Llodra at the
BNP Paribas Masters. During the round-robin stage of the
ATP World Tour Finals, he won two of his three matches and qualified for the semifinals, where he was defeated by Djokovic in three sets, after leading by a set and a break. He ended the year ranked world No. 7, with a 65–17 win–loss record and four titles captured throughout the season.
2013: Wimbledon semifinal, return to top 5 Del Potro began his season at the
Australian Open, where he was upset in the third round by
Jérémy Chardy in five sets. The next month, he won the
Rotterdam Open, beating
Gaël Monfils,
Ernest Gulbis,
Jarkko Nieminen,
Grigor Dimitrov in the semifinals, and
Julien Benneteau in the final. At Dubai, del Potro beat
Marcos Baghdatis, saving three match points,
Somdev Devvarman, and
Daniel Brands, but lost in the semifinals to eventual winner Novak Djokovic. At Indian Wells in March, del Potro defeated Nikolay Davydenko,
Björn Phau, and
Tommy Haas. In the quarterfinals, he beat Andy Murray for the second time in six matches. In the semifinals, he upset top seed and world No. 1 Djokovic, to end the Serb's streak of 22 victories. He then lost in the final to Rafael Nadal in three sets. Del Potro withdrew from most of the clay-court season and from the
French Open due to a viral infection. On grass, del Potro began at the
Queen's Club Championships, where he won his first comeback match in three sets against
Xavier Malisse. He defeated
Daniel Evans, only to be upset in the quarterfinals by
Lleyton Hewitt. At
Wimbledon, Del Potro won against
Albert Ramos,
Jesse Levine, and
Grega Žemlja before advancing past the fourth round for the first time in his career, thanks to a win over
Andreas Seppi. He then played David Ferrer and, despite slipping badly during the fifth point of the match and aggravating a pre-existing leg injury, requiring over five minutes of treatment and by his own admission being close to forfeiting the match, he recovered to defeat Ferrer in straight sets to advance to his first Grand Slam semifinal since the 2009 US Open without dropping a set. On 5 July, Djokovic defeated him in five sets in 4 hours and 44 minutes, making it at that point the longest semifinal in the history of Wimbledon men's singles. Del Potro won the
Washington Open, beating
Ryan Harrison,
Bernard Tomic,
Kevin Anderson, Tommy Haas in the semifinals and
John Isner in the final in three sets. Before the final he didn't drop a set. This was his third title at the event and his second of the year. Del Potro reached the semifinals of
Cincinnati Masters where he again faced Isner and lost the match in three sets. Del Potro got to the second round of the
US Open, after a four-set victory against
Guillermo García-López, only to be upset by Lleyton Hewitt in five sets. At the
Japan Open, Del Potro, who entered the tournament on a wildcard, beat Marcos Baghdatis,
Carlos Berlocq,
Alexandr Dolgopolov,
Nicolas Almagro and
Milos Raonic in two sets to win his third title of the year. In October, Del Potro reached the final of the
Shanghai Rolex Masters, defeating
Philipp Kohlschreiber, Tommy Haas, Nicolás Almagro, and Rafael Nadal (for the first time since the semifinals of the
2009 US Open) en route, but eventually losing to defending champion Djokovic in a third-set tiebreak. In late October he beat sixth-seeded Roger Federer in three sets in the final of the
Swiss Indoors, his fourth title of the year. However, he lost to Federer in the quarterfinals of the
Paris Masters and in a winner-take-all, round-robin clash in the
ATP World Tour Finals at the
O2 arena in London. He finished the year with a 51–16 record, winning four titles overall and prize money of $4,294,039. Del Potro was named Argentina's Sportsman of the Year.
2014–2015: Second wrist injury, two years away from tour Del Potro began his
2014 ATP World Tour season at the
Sydney International as the top seed, winning the final of the tournament against defending champion
Bernard Tomic in only 53 minutes. When asked to play for Argentina in the Davis Cup, del Potro declined, arguing problems with the press and the team, and his decision to prioritize his personal career. At the
Australian Open, he won his opening match against
Rhyne Williams, but lost to
Roberto Bautista-Agut in the second round, having led two sets to one. Despite his second-round loss, del Potro returned to being world No. 4. After the Australian Open, del Potro required treatment for his left wrist, which had been giving him trouble since 2012. In February, at the
2014 Rotterdam Open, he eased past
Gaël Monfils and
Paul-Henri Mathieu in straight sets, but fell to Latvian
Ernests Gulbis in the quarterfinals. In the
2014 Dubai Tennis Championships, he retired against
Somdev Devvarman after losing the first set due to his wrist injury and said "It was really tough to play today. I tried everything. I cannot be the player I would like to be." The same injury led to his subsequent withdrawal from Masters 1000 series events in
Indian Wells and
Miami, meaning that del Potro dropped to world No. 8. Del Potro underwent surgery in March 2014 to repair the problem in his left wrist, missing the rest of the 2014 season. Del Potro began his
2015 season with wrist pain and was not sure whether he would play Sydney and the
2015 Australian Open. However, at the last minute he decided to play both tournaments. He had not played a tournament since February 2014, but he started the
Sydney International with a straight-sets win against
Sergiy Stakhovsky. In the second round he defeated world No. 19 and top seed
Fabio Fognini to reach the quarterfinals, which he lost to
Mikhail Kukushkin in two tiebreakers. Del Potro withdrew from the
2015 Australian Open, due to his wrist injury, the day before his first match and had another surgery on his left wrist. In late March Del Potro played in the
Miami Open with a protected ranking and lost his first-round match to
Vasek Pospisil. It would be his last match of the year, undergoing wrist surgery again in June 2015.
2016: Comeback, Olympic silver, Davis Cup champion He played his first tournament since undergoing surgery at the
Delray Beach Open in mid February. In his first competitive match in almost a year, del Potro defeated
Denis Kudla in two sets. He followed this up with a straight sets win over Australian
John-Patrick Smith. He defeated
Jérémy Chardy in two sets in the quarterfinal, reaching his first semifinal since 2014; which he lost to eventual champion
Sam Querrey. At
Indian Wells, he beat
Tim Smyczek in two sets. He lost in the next round to
Tomas Berdych in straight sets. At
Miami Open he beat
Guido Pella in two sets and was set to play Roger Federer for the first time in more than two years, but just hours before the match Federer withdrew due to a stomach virus. Instead he played lucky loser and countryman
Horacio Zeballos and lost in straight sets. Del Potro then competed in his first clay-court tournament since 2013 at the
BMW Open in Munich in late April. He beat
Dustin Brown, in two sets and
Jan-Lennard Struff in his first three-set match of the year but lost to Philipp Kohlschreiber in the quarterfinals in straight sets. At
Madrid Open he had his best victory after coming back on the tour, defeating 14th seed
Dominic Thiem in straight sets but lost his next match to
Jack Sock in two sets. At
Stuttgart Open, his first grass tournament since the
2013 Wimbledon Championships, he beat Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets,
John Millman in two sets and
Gilles Simon in three sets, before losing to Kohlschreiber in straight sets in the semis. At
Wimbledon he beat
Stephane Robert and
Stanislas Wawrinka (in four sets). Del Potro then lost in an ill-tempered four-set match against 32nd seed
Lucas Pouille in the third round. In the
2016 Olympic Games, held at the
Olympic Tennis Centre in Rio de Janeiro, del Potro defeated top seed and world No. 1, Novak Djokovic, in the first round, winning two tiebreaks. It was a significant win for him because he was ranked no. 145 in the world and was coming back from an injury. He also defeated
João Sousa,
Taro Daniel in three sets and top-20 player Bautista Agut to guarantee a medal match. He played 2008 gold medalist and the 2016 doubles gold medalist, Rafael Nadal. He defeated him in three tight sets to guarantee a medal. Del Potro played in his first gold medal match against the reigning Wimbledon champion from the previous month, Andy Murray and lost in four grueling sets in over four hours. However, del Potro said after beating Nadal "I already won silver, that's good enough for me." At the
US Open Del Potro's ranking of No. 141 was not sufficient to gain direct entry into the main draw but he was granted a wild card. He beat countryman
Diego Schwartzman in straight sets, 19th seed and top-ranked American
Steve Johnson in straight sets, 11th seed and Grand Slam finalist David Ferrer in straight sets and eighth seed Dominic Thiem (when Thiem retired during the second set). Del Potro then lost to eventual champion Stan Wawrinka in the quarterfinals in four sets. Del Potro then played against Murray, in a rematch of the Olympic final, in the
Davis Cup semifinal, held in
Glasgow. Del Potro won the thrilling five-set match in 5 hours and 7 minutes. Del Potro was granted a wildcard for the
Shanghai Masters in October, where he lost in the first round in three sets to 11th seed
David Goffin, despite being a set and a break up. Del Potro was given a wild card into the
Stockholm Open and beat John Isner, Nicolas Almagro,
Ivo Karlovic, Grigor Dimitrov and Jack Sock to win his first title since his return from injury. Del Potro then played at the
Swiss Indoors, where he comfortably beat qualifier
Robin Haase in the first round. He then got revenge on Goffin in a straight sets win, before falling in two tight sets to
Kei Nishikori in the quarterfinals. Vying for Argentina's first title, del Potro played in the
2016 Davis Cup against Croatia. His first match was a four set victory against Ivo Karlović. Partnering
Leonardo Mayer, del Potro lost in doubles against
Ivan Dodig and Marin Čilić. 2–1 down in matches, del Potro played in singles against Čilić, coming back from two sets down for the first time in his career to win in five sets. Described as one of the best Davis Cup comebacks ever, del Potro levelled the score at 2–2, paving the way for
Federico Delbonis to complete the comeback by beating Ivo Karlović, in straight sets, thus claiming Argentina's first ever Davis Cup title. For the second time in his career, after 2011, del Potro was named ATP Comeback Player of the Year.
2017: Continued comeback, US Open semifinal Del Potro decided to skip the
2017 Australian Open and made his season debut at the
Delray Beach Open, where he was seeded in a tournament for the first time in three years, at No. 7, and won his first three matches against
Kevin Anderson,
Damir Dzumhur and
Sam Querrey. However, in the semifinals, del Potro lost to top seed and world No. 4
Milos Raonic in straight sets. Next, del Potro played in the
Mexican Open, where he was drawn to play qualifier
Frances Tiafoe, who idolised del Potro when he was a child. Del Potro won in a tight three-set match. In the next round, del Potro lost in three sets to Djokovic after winning the first set. At the
Indian Wells Masters he beat his Argentine
Davis Cup teammate
Federico Delbonis in two tight sets before losing to Djokovic in three sets. At the
Miami Open, he had a comfortable victory over Robin Haase before losing to Roger Federer in straight sets. Del Potro began his clay-court season at the
Estoril Open, where he beat
Yuichi Sugita for the loss of just four games in the first round, but withdrew the next day after he heard that his grandfather had died. Del Potro withdrew from the
Madrid Open, reappearing at the
Italian Open where he reached the quarterfinals of a Masters 1000 tournament for the first time since the
2013 Paris Masters, following victories over 10th seed Grigor Dimitrov,
Kyle Edmund and seventh seed
Kei Nishikori, which was his first victory in 2017 over a top 10 ranked player. However, he succumbed yet again to world No. 2, Novak Djokovic, in a rain-interrupted straight sets match. In May at
Lyon Open, del Potro defeated lucky loser
Quentin Halys, but lost in the next round against Portuguese qualifier
Gastão Elias in straight sets. Doubt was cast over his participation at the
French Open because of a back injury that had hampered him at Lyon, but he eventually decided to partake in the event. Del Potro entered the event after a five-year absence as the 29th seed, the first time since the
2014 Australian Open that he was seeded at a Grand Slam tournament. In the first round he defeated
Guido Pella in straight sets, and in the second round against Nicolás Almagro, it was one set apiece before Almagro retired. Del Potro eventually fell in straight sets to top seed Andy Murray in the third round. After suffering a second round exit at Wimbledon in straight sets against
Ernests Gulbis, Del Potro began his summer North American hardcourt season in
Washington, where he lost to Kei Nishikori in the third round, ending his 15-match winning streak at the event. He then lost in two sets to
Denis Shapovalov in the second round at the
Canadian Open in Montreal, and at the
Cincinnati Masters he won against
Tomáš Berdych in the first round and qualifier
Mitchell Krueger in the second before losing to eventual champion Grigor Dimitrov in the third round. At the US Open, Del Potro defeated
Henri Laaksonen,
Adrián Menéndez-Maceiras and Roberto Bautista Agut in straight sets. He began his fourth round match against Dominic Thiem struggling, falling two sets behind. However, he then raised his level and, with the help of the crowd, eventually prevailed in five sets, saving two match points in the fourth set with two aces. In the post match interview he admitted he considered retiring from the match during the second set. The US Open account on Instagram switched his racquet for Thor's hammer using software editing tools, which created a new nickname for the Argentine: Juan Martin "del Thortro", by fellow tennis player
Roger Federer, adding to a collection of nicknames such as "Delpo", "Tower of Tandil", "Palito" (stick) and "Enano" (midget). In the quarterfinals he defeated Roger Federer in four tight sets; his second victory over the Swiss at the US Open, having beaten him in the final in 2009. By doing so he reached his first major semifinal since Wimbledon 2013. His run came to an end in four sets, losing to world No. 1, Rafael Nadal. Del Potro began his Asian hard court swing in
Beijing, where he lost in straight sets to Grigor Dimitrov in the second round, his second loss against the Bulgarian. This was followed by the
Shanghai Masters, where he reached the semifinals of a Masters 1000 event for the first time since 2013 (also in Shanghai), most notably upsetting
Alexander Zverev in the third round, his second triumph over a Top 5 ranked opponent after his victory over Roger Federer at the
US Open. Del Potro won the first set but eventually lost in the semifinals against Federer, who would go on to win the tournament. Del Potro defended his 2016 Stockholm Open title by defeating Grigor Dimitrov in the finals of the 2017 Stockholm Open in straight sets. This victory gave Del Potro his 20th ATP career title. He then reached the final of
Basel, where he faced Federer and again lost in three sets after winning the first. Del Potro then made it to the quarterfinals of the
Paris Masters, where he was one win away from entering the top 10 and qualifying for the
ATP Finals, which would have been his first time since 2013 participating in the year-end tournament. However, he was defeated in three sets by
John Isner and subsequently declined to be chosen as an alternate for the tournament, instead choosing to rest with his family and friends in his native
Tandil. Nevertheless, Del Potro won 730 points in a span of three weeks and reached the 11th spot of the
ATP rankings.
2018: First Masters, second US Open final, world No. 3, injuries Del Potro started the season at the
ASB Classic in New Zealand, where he beat Denis Shapovalov to return to the top 10 of the ATP rankings for the first time since August 2014. Del Potro then defeated
Karen Khachanov and David Ferrer en route to the final, where he lost to Roberto Bautista Agut in three sets. At the
Australian Open he lost in the third round against
Tomáš Berdych. At the
Delray Beach Open he was seeded second but lost in the second round to eventual champion
Frances Tiafoe. He then won the
Acapulco Open, defeating
Kevin Anderson in straight sets to obtain his 21st title, and his biggest title since
2013 Swiss Indoors. , where he won his first Masters 1000 title of his career His winning streak would not stop there, however, as he went on to win the
Indian Wells Open, the first
Masters 1000 tournament of his career, beating teenager
Alex De Minaur, veteran David Ferrer, compatriot
Leonardo Mayer, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Milos Raonic and reigning champion and world No. 1, Roger Federer in the final. Del Potro prevailed in three sets despite Federer serving for the match in the decider and holding three championship points. This was del Potro's biggest achievement in the ATP Tour after the
2009 US Open. Del Potro continued his successful run at the
Miami Open, beating Robin Haase, Kei Nishikori and
Filip Krajinović, before prevailing in a grueling match against Milos Raonic, reaching the semifinals. His 15-match win streak ended as he was defeated by eventual champion John Isner. Del Potro returned to the courts in early May for the clay court season, although his first results were lackluster. After starting the
Madrid Open with a solid victory against Bosnian
Damir Džumhur in the second round, he was upset by qualifier
Dušan Lajović in three sets. In his next tournament in
Rome, del Potro defeated rising star
Stefanos Tsitsipas before retiring against David Goffin in the next round due to a groin injury. His participation at the
French Open was in doubt but he recovered in time and entered the tournament as the fifth seed. Following victories against French players
Nicolas Mahut and
Julien Benneteau, he defeated 31st seed
Albert Ramos Viñolas and world No. 10, John Isner, en route to a quarterfinal clash against world No. 4 and frequent rival, Marin Čilić. After an intense match, in which he had an argument with a fan who supposedly heckled him, Del Potro defeated Čilić in four sets and reached the semifinals, the first time since
2009. He then lost to ten-times French Open champion Rafael Nadal in straight sets. His run to the semifinals ensured that, for the first time since February 2014, Del Potro would return to his career-best ranking of world No. 4. At Wimbledon, Del Potro defeated
Peter Gojowczyk,
Feliciano Lopez and
Benoît Paire, before a long four set win over 2 days against
Gilles Simon. Del Potro then competed at the
Los Cabos Open, where he reached the final but lost to second-seeded
Fabio Fognini in straight sets. Del Potro moved up to a new career-high ranking of world No. 3 as of the week of 13 August. Del Potro was seeded fourth at
Cincinnati, defeating
Chung Hyeon and
Nick Kyrgios before falling to David Goffin in the quarterfinals. Entering the
US Open seeded third, del Potro reached the quarterfinals without dropping a set, defeating
Donald Young,
Denis Kudla, 31st seed Fernando Verdasco, and 20th seed
Borna Ćorić. He then faced 11th seed John Isner, defeating him in four sets to reach his second consecutive US Open semifinal, where he faced top seed and defending champion Rafael Nadal in a rematch of the previous year's semifinal. Nadal retired from the match due to a knee injury after del Potro took the first two sets. With this victory, del Potro advanced to his second Grand Slam final, nine years after his
2009 US Open triumph. He was defeated by two-time champion Novak Djokovic in three straight sets. Del Potro entered the
China Open in October as the top seed. He defeated
Albert Ramos Viñolas, Karen Khachanov,
Filip Krajinović, and reached the final without dropping a set after
Fabio Fognini withdrew before the semifinal. He faced unseeded
Nikoloz Basilashvili in the final, losing in two sets. He then competed in the
Shanghai Masters seeded third. He defeated
Richard Gasquet and faced 13th seed Borna Ćorić in the third round, narrowly dropping the first set before he retired due to a knee injury. This injury forced his withdrawal from the rest of the season, including the
ATP Finals, for which he had qualified for the first time since 2013.
2019–2021: Continued injuries Del Potro's injury lingered into the
2019 season, forcing him to withdraw from the
Australian Open. He made his comeback at the
Delray Beach Open in February where he reached the quarterfinals, losing to
Mackenzie McDonald in three sets. Still not having recovered from injury, Del Potro chose not to defend his titles in
Acapulco and
Indian Wells, withdrawing from both tournaments. Playing in his first tournament back at the
Madrid Open, del Potro lost his first match to
Laslo Djere. He then played in Rome and secured wins against David Goffin, who had a 3–1 lead over him before the match, and
Casper Ruud. He failed to convert two match points in a second set tiebreaker to ultimately lose his quarterfinal against world No. 1 Novak Djokovic over a three-hour match. At the
2019 French Open, del Potro was seeded eighth. After wins in the first three rounds against
Nicolás Jarry,
Yoshihito Nishioka and
Jordan Thompson respectively he lost in the fourth round to tenth-seeded
Karen Khachanov in four sets. In his first grass-court tournament of the season at
Queen's Club, del Potro suffered another career-threatening injury when he fractured his kneecap in his first round match against
Denis Shapovalov. Del Potro did not play any professional tennis from June 2019 at Queen's Club until 2022 at the Argentina Open. He underwent four right knee surgeries (June 2019, January 2020, August 2020 and March 2021) and withdrew from the
Tokyo Olympics in July 2021. At the
2021 US Open, del Potro reported that his knee was getting better, he had picked up training on the court again and hoped to be ready to play on the tour within a couple of months.
2022: Return to professional tennis, potential retirement On 31 January, it was announced that Del Potro will make his return to professional tennis at the Argentina Open, where he accepted a wildcard. He also accepted a wildcard to play the Rio Open. On 5 February, Del Potro stated in a press conference that he would likely retire after the
Argentina Open. He cited ongoing knee pain due to an injury as a reason behind the potential retirement, and said that his return is "maybe more of a farewell than a comeback". Del Potro lost in the first round of the Argentina Open to
Federico Delbonis, and again hinted at retirement in the post-match interview. He withdrew from the
2022 Rio Open on 11 February. Del Potro has not played any matches since; he dropped out of the singles rankings on 20 June, as well as the doubles rankings on 9 May.
2023–2024: Failed comeback at the US Open, farewell exhibition match In March, he stated that he would begin training for a potential return at the 2023 US Open. In August, he announced that he would not be able to compete in the tournament, due to his physical state. Del Potro took part in a farewell exhibition match titled 'The Last Challenge' against Novak Djokovic in Buenos Aires on 1 December 2024. In front of 15,000 spectators, he won in straight sets. ==Playing style==