Első Gs döntőjét megnyerte 20 évesen. 0-1 majd 1-2 es szettek állásáról, a legyőzhetetlennek hitt 41-0-ás US open győztes mutatóval rendelkező 15* GS bajnok Federert, aki legeredményesebb férfi teniszezője a világnak. Új csillag született, nem kérdés!
2009 US open döntő eredménye:
Del Potro-Federer 36 76 (4) 46 76 (3) 62
Fednek nagyot kellene javulnia, ennyi hibával semmi esélye és a vérszívó is érzi ezt...félek, hogy Simon elviszi a meccset, szinte odaajándékozza neki Roger...
Alig találtam meg a topikot, pedig csak 4 napja nem írt senki :)
Nézelődtem erre-arra, Delpo szerepel Queens Club listán, meg azt is olvastam valahol hogy edz, de még nem biztos hogy indul. Ezen kívül még egy képet találtam a múltkori buliról, és ennyi. Biztos edz meg a Garrost nézi ;) peeersze.
Előkerült egy másik fotó a hétvégéről, ahol minő meglepi, újra lányhegyek közt, mögött Delpo. Abban reménykedem, hogy egyik sem volt fertőző beteg...:P
Palermo búcsúmeccse, ahol Delpo is a szent gyöpre lépett:) 7:35-től látható Delpi, mint focista...végül is adott egy gólpaszt és nem is volt olyan béna.:))
In part two of an exclusive interview, the world’s seventh-ranked tennis player Juan Martin del Potro spoke to FIFA.com about the passion for football on the tour, his friendship with Lionel Messi and Brazil 2014.
FIFA.com: How do you manage to follow Boca when you’re playing on the tour? Juan Martin del Potro: I do what I can. I’ll either go online, phone friends up or look for a bar, depending on the tournament I’m at. I’ll get out of bed at any time to watch Boca. When I was 16 I played at the Orange Bowl. I was one of the favourites to win and Boca were playing in the Intercontinental Cup against Milan. It was four in the morning in Miami and they wouldn’t let me get up to watch it. I put the TV on ever so quietly, though, and watched the whole game, which went to penalties and lasted forever. Then an hour later I went out and lost 6-2, 6-2. Everyone wanted to kill me but I was so pleased. Boca had won the Intercontinental Cup, after all, and mine was just another tournament.
Do you still do things like that now that you’re professional? (Laughs) I’ve grown up a little bit in that respect. If I’ve got a very important match, I won’t get up at four in the morning, though when I was at Wimbledon last year Boca were playing in the final of the Libertadores at two or three in the morning London time. Franco (Davin, Del Potro’s coach) looked at me as if to say: ‘Don’t even think about getting up to watch the game’. I did anyway, but I still went out and won the next day.
Tell us about this habit you have of giving Boca shirts out to players on the tour. I gave one to Federer, who’s a fan. Nadal is an Estudiantes man. Juan Monaco got in there ahead of me. Then there’s Tsonga, who’s a real fan and went to see them in the USA. He was already a fan but I’ve been pushing him along. And there’s Marin Cilic too. A Croat who’s a Boca fan – that sounds a bit weird. There are a lot of tennis players who like their football.
Tell us about handing the shirt over to Federer. It was all pretty natural, as he likes football a lot. He knows a lot about all the teams and we’d chat about Boca. We were on our own in the locker room once on semi-finals day at Roland Garros. There was no one else around and we started chatting. The subject of Boca came up and I had the shirt ready and said: ‘This is for you, Roger’. Then, when he came to Buenos Aires, the La Bombonera was amazing. He was really taken by it.
Do you joke among yourselves? There’s respect between us. The Spanish are big fans too. They’re either Barça or Real Madrid fans and I show what I know because I tell them I can compete with them for Intercontinental Cups. It’s always good fun, though. What’s surprising is that there are quite a few of them who are really up on it, like the standings in Argentina – the whole lot. Rafa is very knowledgeable and is a huge Real Madrid fan. Djokovic really roots for Milan and he knows a lot about football too.
If Djokovic were Barcelona and Nadal Madrid, which club would Del Potro be? I’m Boca. There are times when I’m playing when I have to win like Boca because I don’t feel great or I’m not on top of my game. I say to myself: ‘This guy has to know who he’s up against and I have to win no matter that it takes’. Tennis matches can last a long time and there are lots of times when all sorts of things can go through your mind. I often think about the Boca attitude, what Boca means across the world, and about how many times they’ve won games you say they’ve lost, only for them to come back like Boca can. Sometimes in tournaments I’ll see Argentinians with Boca shirts and flags and that gives me a boost.
Can you think of one game in particular where you’ve felt like that? Miami 2009, in the semis against Rafa Nadal. What a match. It was like playing at La Bombonera. The stadium was packed and people were singing football songs. I was 3-0 down in the third set and came back to win. It really was like La Bombonera, and the atmosphere wasn’t like a tennis match at all. The games against Murray and Djokovic at Indian Wells this year were like that too.
Is there a football atmosphere at tennis matches in Argentina? Yes, but in a good way. People have become very passionate about tennis and after I won the US Open in 2009 I felt there was a boom and the fans got that much more into it. Whenever I play there’s always a bigger atmosphere than there is for other players. Djokovic and Federer have said that to me. They say to me: ‘They’re always singing ‘Delpo, Delpo, Delpo’ when we play you.’ It makes it fun. I feel like the home boy serving against Federer and Nadal, who are the greatest players in the history of the game.
Who do you feel is the best footballer in the world? Messi. He’s got an edge over the rest. A lot of people say Cristiano is just a level below but I’m surprised by what (Andres) Iniesta, Xavi and (Wayne) Rooney can do. They’re real stars. I’m not saying Cristiano isn’t better than them but they’re right up there too. Bayern Munich have got a lot of great players too and they’ve won the Champions League and the German League with a massive points difference. Right now, though, Lio is ahead of that group.
What kind of a relationship do you have with him? We chat from time to time and send each other messages. He likes tennis and I know he watches my games. I congratulated him when he became a father. I’d love to see more of him but we just don’t have the time. I have a lot of admiration for him. (Diego) Maradona also came to see me in Dubai, which was great and very exciting for me. Tennis has given me these unique experiences and they’ll stay with me forever.
When you talk about football you sound more like an excited little boy than a leading tennis player. Yes, that’s right. That happened to me with Martin Palermo, who was my idol. He came to see me one day and when I saw him and realised who it was, I was dumbstruck. We just stopped what we were doing obviously. I couldn’t think about anything else. I couldn’t believe it.
You played in Palermo’s farewell match. What do you remember of that day? I experienced it more like a fan and frustrated football player than a friend of Palermo’s. It was a dream for me to play for a few minutes at a packed Bombonera. It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me in football. I was shaking all over. I took it seriously too, even though it was a friend’s farewell game. It was a dream, just amazing. I was loving it because every time I touched the ball I did the right thing, and the fans were applauding me (laughs). I proved what I’ve always said: that I played football and I played it well.
What plans are you making for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™? I’m going to go if I get the chance. I nearly went to South Africa in 2010 because I had a hand injury and wasn’t playing. Brazil is closer and I’d love to go. I think Argentina are looking really good and I think Messi knows it’s a unique opportunity. It’s not just about him, though, and we shouldn’t put too much pressure on him. But if he keeps on improving the way he has been, Argentina will be one of the favourites along with hosts Brazil and Spain, who’ve been so consistent.
What does an Argentina-Brazil Final at the Maracana say to you? We’d all go to that. The only thing is, will they let us back (laughs).
Jó cikk. Én örülök hogy inkább teniszező lett, bár ha Argentínában focizna, többet tudna találkozni a "barátaival" ;)
Egyébként próbáltam elképzelni Delpot focistaként, de egyből Peter Crouch ugrott be meg a photoshoppolt képei :D Szerintem teniszezőként sikeresebb, mint amilyen sikeres lehetne focistaként. Eltörpülne Messi árnyékában :)
While Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are the undisputed top four in world tennis, not far behind them stands a 24-year-old Argentinian by the name of Juan Martin del Potro, who has both the game and the stature to look the leading quartet in the eye.
Seventh in the current ATP Rankings, a bronze medallist at last year’s London Olympics and a US Open champion at the age of only 19, the 6’4-tall Del Potro spoke to FIFA.com at his training base in Buenos Aires, where he is recovering from a virus that has forced him to skip the French Open, the second of this year’s Grand Slam events. The topic of discussion in the first instalment of this two-part interview was not tennis, however, but football, the Argentinian’s other major sporting passion.
FIFA.com: Is there a place for football in your hectic playing schedule? Juan Martin del Potro: Absolutely. It’s the number-one for me. I really love it. I watch football in my spare time and I play it with my friends too. I don’t get a lot of free time in Buenos Aires, but we’ve got some teams set up over in Tandil and every time I go there for a few days we have a few games before the sun goes down or before a barbecue. I follow Boca Juniors closely but I like all types of football to be honest, and when I’m in Argentina I can see a bit more of the team I support.
Football and a barbecue: is that a typical day with your friends? We have a game at about six or seven in the evening and we play for an hour on a seven- or nine-a-side pitch. We don’t play on a full-size pitch because you have to run around lot and I already do plenty of that when I play tennis (laughs). The winners don’t have to do anything later. The losing team has to set the table, do the shopping and the barbecue and tidy everything up afterwards. In Tandil we’ve got really good salamis and cheeses and the losing team always has to do the snacks as well. We stay up late and have a really good time.
Which position do you play in? With your height you must be a centre-half or centre-forward. Centre-forward. I’ve enjoyed playing there since I was a kid. I used to play a lot in the centre of defence too. I liked the position with all the passing and running. I ended up playing up front though and the fact is I love the game. Actually I like it even more than tennis, which is like a job to me now. I still have this desire deep down to play a competitive match for any club that will have me when I finish my tennis career. I want to experience that intensity and play for points, which is what I did when I was young.
Which club did you play for? I played for Independiente de Tandil and we were always fighting for the title. We played in a lot of regional and national competitions, where we came up against the likes of Boca, Newell’s, Colon, Racing Club and Independiente. You can imagine how big the gap was between us and big teams like them but I just thought it was fantastic. You’d play Boca and they were all there in their matching kit and boots and with the same balls, and there we were with the little bit of kit we had. We were kids living a dream, though. When I was about 12 or 13 I had to choose between tennis and football and I went for tennis.
I like it even more than tennis, which is like a job to me now. I still have this desire deep down to play a competitive match for any club that will have me when I finish my tennis career.Juan Martin del Potro
How difficult was it for you to make that choice? Really, really hard. My football coach spoke a lot with my tennis coach. Neither of them wanted to let me go, and the fact is I always liked football more. The decision came about, though, because there was a very important football tournament at the same time as a South American championship for 12-year-olds in Brazil. As I’d never been out of the country, I said: 'I’m going to Brazil to play tennis.' It was the first time I’d been on a plane and my first tennis tournament and I ended up being the best player. That came as a complete surprise for everyone, for my family and my coach. When I got back they said I had a chance of making it and that it would be difficult for me to carry on playing both sports, which meant I had a decision to make. I said tennis, and I spent three of four months just playing that. Then I said to myself: ‘No, it’s football for me.’ So I put the racket away, carried on with my studies at school and played nothing else but football. That’s the way things were till I was nearly 14, which is when I lost enthusiasm for it and felt something for tennis instead. So I got my head down and devoted myself to tennis.
Do you think you would have had a good career if you’d stuck with football? From what they said when I was a boy, yes. They said I was like Marangoni (Claudio, who played for Independiente and Boca in the 1980s) because of my physique and the way I played. But then I started growing and I wasn’t as nimble on my feet. That’s why they put me up front. I loved playing football. I’d kick a ball against a wall for an hour before tennis training and afterwards I’d spend another hour playing football. Some of my team-mates from back then play in the Argentino A (the national third tier) for Independiente. I don’t know if I’d have made it with Boca or another big team but I definitely would have made it with them.
What’s your first football memory? Kid’s tournaments that we’d play on five-a-side pitches, when I was about 8 or 9 and already playing against kids who were a couple of years older. I’d be wearing football kit every weekend from eight in the morning through to nine at night, playing match after match after match.
Did you go to sleep wearing your Boca jersey? Yes, yes. I was all ready the day before. I had my boots at the ready and my grandfather would get me a ball. I had the lot. I remember a funny incident when I was about 11 or 12, playing in a tournament in Tandil. The parents of the opposing players were saying: ‘That kid’s really big. We should check his papers’. They’d hit all these crosses and I’d head or kick the ball away further than anyone, and really hard too. People would always talk about whether I was older than I said I was.
Why Boca? Because of my grandfather. There are a lot of Boca fans in my family, my dad included. When you’re young you start supporting a club even though you don’t understand that much, and then you start to watch more and more games. I caught Boca’s most successful era and that’s when I became a real fan. I was lucky enough to meet a lot of the players and to become friends with some of the club’s legends. For me as a fan and a person it doesn’t get any better than that.
Hola a todos, antes que nada les agradezco, como siempre, los mensajes de apoyo, que me acompañan en este momento, así como mi familia y amigos, que siempre están ahí. Estoy triste por no poder participar en Roland Garros y también por no haber podido hacer la gira como quería debido a mis problemas de salud. Roland Garros es uno de los torneos más importantes del año y no me gusta perdérmelo. No estoy en la mejor forma física que se necesita para un torneo así. Voy a seguir trabajando para estar en la mejor manera porque nadie más que yo quiere volver con fuerzas. De nuevo, muchas gracias!!
Szia mindenkinek, először is köszönöm, mint mindig az üzeneteket a támogatást, ebben az időben a családom és a barátaim akik velem vannak. Szomorú vagyok, hogy nem tudok részt venni a Roland Garroson, pedig nagyon szerettem volna, de egészségügyi problémák miatt ez nem lehetséges. A Roland Garros az egyik legfontosabb verseny és én utálom, hogy hiányzom. Én nem vagyok a legjobb állapotban, ami szükséges egy ilyen versenyen. Én folyamatosan dolgozom azon, hogy a legjobban térjek vissza. Még egyszer nagyon köszönöm!
#ATP#RolandGarros Del Potro´s withdrawal official press release: Juan Martin del Potro was forced to cancel his participation at Roland Garros as not being physically fit to face a demanding tournament as the french Grand Slam
Del Potro suffered viral infection at the beginning of the clay tour, which affected his upper respiratory system and digestive tract, and forced him to two weeks of rest. Then he experienced a recurrence with bronchospasm. These situations negatively altered his preparation for the tour and forced him to miss Estoril and Madrid tournaments. When falling early in Rome, Del Potro decided to return to Argentina for new medical checks.
After serialized clinical studies and athletic evaluations, it was found an improvement in clinical and respiratory status as well as his physical response to sport demands. However, the medical team, led by Dr. Roberto Peidro, in conjunction with the coaching staff, has decided to continue with Del Potro´s preparation and treatment in Argentina until achieve a full recovery. For this reason, Delpo have been advised not to participate at Roland Garros as it not reaching in time at full physical condition. "I'm sad to miss such an important tournament, obviously is a blow because these are the tournaments that you always dream of winning. Now I´ll get through this time, get full recovery and prepare myself to perform a hundred percent in the next commitments," Del Potro said. " (traduction by myself @pablofisher) Via @ jorgeviale, Del Potro´s communication manager.
