That didn’t take long, did it?
Many had expected del Potro to take at least 3 months, perhaps closer to 6 months to come back, and within two months or so, he’s already won a title. del Potro went from winning a match in a tournament, to winning two matches, to getting to the semifinals of Memphis, and finally winning Delray Beach.
Critics of the women’s game have looked at Clijsters’ return and Henin’s return and complained that these women were off the tour for a significant amount of time and were ready to win Slams. How weak the women’s game must be if players can do this.
But it seems quite amazing that del Potro could come back like this. The closest person to take such a break and come back, to my mind, is Rafa Nadal, and he’s never taken more than about 2 months off–never a whole year.
Delpo did have some advantages. Fish is good, but he, too, is coming off of not being his best. At least Delpo has been training for months in pretty good shape. And Janko Tipsarevic has never won a title.
Delpo wins 6-4, 6-4, and now he sees how his game stacks against the very best when Indian Wells starts in a week.
David Ferrer was coming to Acapulco to defend his title. Last year, Ferrer started his 2010 well by reaching the finals of Buenos Aires where he lost to countryman, Juan Carlos Ferrero. Ferrero was much like Almagro. Buenos Aires was his second title in the Central/South American swing, which he won over Ferrer. Ferrer chose to skip Buenos Aires this year (and Ferrero appears to have skipped this entire series of tournaments).
Almagro was looking to win his third title at Acapulco. He won the title in 2008 and 2009. Ferrer won it last year in 2010, and was defending. Meanwhile, Almagro was looking for his third title in three weeks, having won in Buenos Aires and the Brazil Open the last two weeks. The first two sets were close with Almagro having a shot at winning the first set, but losing in a tiebreak to Ferrer. Almagro took the second set in another tiebreak. By this point, Almagro looked tired, and Ferrer won the third set easily.
Final score: 7-6, 6-7, 6-2.
This week, there are no events. Qualifying at Indian Wells start early in the week, and the first day is next Wednesday, with most seeds not playing until the weekend.
Indian Wells and Miami are the only tournaments, other than the Slams, that runs more than a week. Both run about a week and a half each.