Juan Martin Del Potro will begin the second tournament of his 2016 comeback when he takes the court against Tim Smyczek on Thursday in Indian Wells. The winner’s reward will be a round-two date with Tomas Berdych.
Juan Martin Del Potro and Tim Smyczek will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers when they collide in Thursday’s nightcap at the BNP Paribas Open.
It marks the second tournament of 2016 for Del Potro, who missed almost all of last year with recurring wrist issues. The 27-year-old Argentine played in Sydney last January, practiced in Indian Wells but did not officially participate in the event, and then contested one match in Miami (lost to Vasek Pospisil). The left-wrist injury reared its ugly head immediately thereafter and Del Potro did not play again until Delray Beach last month. An encouraging return saw the 2009 U.S. Open champion defeat Denis Kudla, John-Patrick Smith, and Jeremy Chardy all in straight sets before bowing out at the hands of Sam Querrey in the semifinals.
It has already been a productive week for Smyczek, who battled into the main draw with a pair of hard-fought qualifying victories. The 116th-ranked American beat a pair of up-and-coming Americans–Michael Mmoh 7-6(2), 2-6, 7-5 and Tommy Paul 3-6, 6-3, 7-5. Smyczek also qualified for the Australian Open, advanced one round there, and he is coming off a quarterfinal performance in Delray Beach.
Smyczek’s plan will obviously be to find his opponent’s backhand with just about every shot, but that is easier said than done. He will have a tough time dictating play in order to execute that plan, as Del Potro is still hitting the ball huge with his serve and forehand. Additionally, Del Potro’s wrist must be feeling good because he has also signed up for doubles this week with Leonardo Mayer.
Pick: Del Potro in 2
[polldaddy poll=9340903]
who ya got?
GO Delpo!!
Ricky, have you seen any of his practices? how is he looking on the practice courts?
I was there. Sock destroyed him.
I was asking about Delpo…
BUT, this result concerns me. Sock dominated rafa so much in practice? :s
I can’t interpret this…
Mental Problema is everywhere.
Now in practice too.
That’s how anxiety left untreated works.
#NewBrand
The eyewitness has written more.
RT Ricky Dimon: “Nadal may have gotten trounced by Sock, but for the most part he was in a good mood.”
Acceptance is everywhere.
I am very nervous hearing that Sock destroyed Rafa in practice. What’s up with that?
As for Delpo, I think he’ll win in 2 sets.
beating Rafa on practice courts means nothing for the real matches I ‘d say, as much as Rafa beating his opponents in practice is no indication that Rafa would sure beat them in the “real world”…I think we all know it by now… 🙂
I would rather have Rafa beating Sock in the real world and leave those practice sessions to serve their only purpose, which is: practice and nothing more…Rafa reads too much from those practices I would say, and it’s time to relax during practices and focuses during real matches…I hope this is the case… 🙂
natashao2013 (AT 4:56 PM),
—Rafa reads too much from those practices…—
===
.
Ricky has reads.
Correction:
reads ➽ read
The eyewitness has continued to read from “that” practice.
RT Ricky Dimon: “after losing to Jack Sock 6-2, 6-3 yesterday, Rafael Nadal is practicing for THREE straight hours today.”
Obsessive.
damn…he puts in so much effort..3 hrs of practice sessions!
The certain eyewitness puts a lot of effort too… 🙂
Oh, Rafa! Just as I thought he decided to put less effort into practice sessions… 🙁
well losing to Sock in that manner in a practice session does matter to me at least…strange result..
He beat Ferrer 6-2 in a practice set in Argentina and I thought at least he is playing well in practice sessions..
natashao2013 (AT 12:33 PM),
I wonder why should he have decided to practice less.
At the end of the last year, he was happy that his healthy body was allowing him to practice a lot.
Practice.
We talkin’ ’bout practice.
Practice.
Practice.
yeah, but the thing is that we know rafa puts in lots of effort into this practice sessions and he is under no pressure in practice and even then he got trounced like that? For me it is shocking. I do hope this result means nothing and rafa comes out as a different player in the tournament matches.
Maybe the thinking is that he’s been saving his best for practice so why not flip it around.
Del Po in straights
? Nice win, Delpo. Big guy looking good. Vamos Delpo!
good job, Delpo
One bagel! Vamos Juan Martin!
yeah, good to have him back! It’s great for the game!
Vamos Delpo!
He is doing pretty well so far! I was expecting some bad losses in the beginning. Really well done !
I guess no pressure means a lot for the player coming back from injury…I too did not expect Delpo to begin this strong but I am so glad he is…
Wish Rafa could play pressure-free…here defending qtr final points means pressure and tension…and Rafa’s recent results and the current state of mind do not help either…
Wow. The ATPTennisTV live streaming service has surpassed itself. Cant believe the amount of coverage on offer – all nine courts PLUS 7 day catch-up. Money well spent if you live in Europe.
Will make a change from fretting about the Sharapova saga 🙂
Vamos Del Po!!