del Potro’s return back to tour has been nothing short of incredible.  But, despite a title win at Delray Beach, del Potro had not beaten a top ten player.  He has played two in 2011.  He lost to Andy Roddick in Memphis in the semis, and lost to Fernando Verdasco in San Jose.

Few expected del Potro to beat Nadal.  Give him trouble?  Perhaps.  But win?

The start of the match suggested that things might go differently. Despite Nadal pressuring del Potro, del Potro held early and then broke Nadal.  Nadal seemed a bit nervous, committing more errors than usual.  But Nadal suddenly realized he was number 1 and pressured del Potro.

For a guy who has been off the tour for nearly a year and is taller than most players, del Potro’s movement is rather impressive.  He seems to have taken his loss to Davydenko at the end of 2009 and told his team that he wanted to play more like the diminutive Russian.  del Potro did a really good job of moving the ball around, creating angles, going up the lines, and in general, trying to move Nadal around.

Nadal won the first set 6-4 and took the second set by the same score.

Right now, del Potro probably needs a few more tournaments to work himself into better shape, but he is already playing at top 20 material and should work his way there.

In the ongoing match between Federer and Djokovic, it looked like Djokovic again had Roger’s number, taking the first set, 6-3, unable to take control of the match with Djokovic acting like a human backboard. One reason Djokovic is so tough to beat is the number of returns he puts in play.  Federer is used to winning a few free points each game off his serve, whether it be an ace or a big forehand off a return.  However, Djokovic forces him to play nearly every point.

In the second set, Federer change tactics.  He took pace off the ball to change it up, and this seemed to throw Djokovic off his game.  When Federer went back to hitting hard, Djokovic was still unable to respond well.

Federer broke twice to take the second set and start serving in the third set.

Djokovic has broken early in the third, and had Federer in trouble in another service game, but Fed held on for that game.