After Rafael Nadal won his fifth French Open men’s singles title Sunday – and completing another undefeated season on clay courts – the question arises: who will step up a challenge him on clay courts.
The answer, according to two-time French Open champion Jim Courier, is Juan Martin del Potro.
On his blog linked here http://www.championsseriestennis.com/player_blog.php?id=6 on the official website of the Champions Series tennis circuit, Courier predicts that the 21-year-old Argentine, when he comes back from his wrist injury that will sideline him for most of 2010, will be the player who will most likely threaten Nadal on clay in the future.
“I think he is Rafa’s biggest competition on the dirt in the next few years, assuming he can get his wrist back to full strength,” wrote Courier. “Ultimately you need to be able to blow Rafa off of the court to beat him …and very few guys can do that on the slower clay surface. (Juan Martin del Potro) is that guy.”
Del Potro defeated Nadal 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 last year in the semifinals of the US Open en route to the title, but Nadal was not at 100 percent due to strained abdominal muscles and lingering doubts about the stability of his knees after missing much of the summer months. Nadal, 24, leads the head-to-head series with del Potro 4-3, but has lost the last three match-ups (2009 Miami and Canada quarterfinals and the 2009 US Open semifinal.)