Skip to main content
SI

Juan Martin del Potro qualifies for ATP World Tour Finals

With Rafael Nadal's official withdrawal from the ATP World Tour Finals in London, Juan Martin del Potro became the sixth qualifier into the year-end tournament
Courtney Nguyen|

With Rafael Nadal's official withdrawal from the ATP World Tour Finals in London, Juan Martin del Potro became the sixth qualifier into the year-end tournament after beating Brian Baker in the third round of the Swiss Indoors in Basel on Thursday. Currently ranked No. 8 in the 52-week rankings, it will be Del Potro's third World Tour Finals and the first since his banner year in 2009, when he reached the final but lost to Nikolay Davydenko.

The soft-spoken Argentine, who won a tournament in Vienna last week, was excited to qualify for the eight-man field but took time to lament Rafa's absence.

"I'm sad for Rafa, he's really trying in his comeback. But it's not easy after such a long time away. I had the same feeling with my wrist. We miss Rafa a lot on the Tour. He is one of the best players in history, he will come back strong. I'm sure it will be very soon.

"He will be ready to win a big event again, I know that he can play better than me when he makes his comeback, I wish all the best to him."

Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations

Published | Modified
Courtney Nguyen
COURTNEY NGUYEN

Contributor, SI.com Nguyen is a freelance writer for SI.com, providing full coverage of professional tennis both on and off the court. Her content has become a must-read for fans and insiders to stay up-to-date with a sport that rarely rests. She has appeared on radio and TV talk shows all over the world and is one of the co-hosts of No Challenges Remaining, a weekly podcast available on iTunes. Nguyen graduated from the University of California, Irvine in 1999 and received a law degree from the University of California, Davis in 2002. She lives in the Bay Area.

Home/Tennis