TENNIS in DEPTH.

Juan Martin del Potro, the world No.5, currently healing a right wrist injury in Buenos Aires, Argentina, may have been hundreds of miles away from its epicentre, but he felt the force of the earthquake that struck Chile on Friday and sent shock waves across half the world. “I was sleeping when at approximately 3:30am I started feeling dizzy and also hearing loud noises,” Del Potro said. “The first thing I thought it was that I had left the windows open and the wind was making the noise when they hit against the walls. I live on a high floor of an apartment building so I didn’t think this was out of the ordinary.

“The noise was quite loud and it woke me up, so I decided to see what was happening. I was feeling very dizzy and soon realized it wasn’t the wind making the noise. Everything in my apartment was shaking and when I walked into my living room, the curtains and the decorations on the walls were shaking as well. This went on for over five minutes.

“I am very saddened that the second natural disaster has taken place in such a short amount of time in the Americas, affecting so many people. I have travelled to Chile many times in my life and love the people and the country. My thoughts and prayers are with the people of Chile and I pray that as many people as possible will escape this terrible disaster safely.” As do we all.

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U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro has injured his wrist and is expected to miss Argentina’s Davis Cup series against Sweden next month.

Del Potro was injured Thursday during a practice session. He has been bothered by tendinitis in his wrist for months.

At the Shanghai Masters in October, he retired in the second set because of the injury. He pulled out of an exhibition tournament just days before last month’s Australian Open with the same problem.

Martiniano Orazi, Del Potro’s trainer, said the No. 5-ranked player would need four weeks of rest and four more weeks to get back into playing shape.

The Davis Cup series is March 5-7 in Stockholm.

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Juan Martin Del Potro stunned everyone last September when he battled his way through the draw at the US Open and then claimed an upset victory over world number one Roger Federer to lift the trophy at Flushing Meadows. Now the 21-year old Argentine is set to electrify his many fans on centre court at the Dubai Tennis Stadium as he bids to add another title to his growing portfolio.

“I know it’s a great tournament, great city,” he said of Dubai.

“It has tall buildings like Manhattan, so just maybe the setting will mean I can play similar tennis in Dubai as I did in New York,” he added.

However, his US Open triumph was not the only success that Del Potro has enjoyed in his still-short career. In 2008 he finished the season as the youngest player in the top 10 after reaching five finals and winning four titles, and he helped Argentina to the Davis Cup final against Spain. Then, last year he once again ended the year as the youngest player in the top 10, earning a personal-best ranking of number five in the world.

 Despite everything else he has achieved, it was the US Open that made Del Potro’s name, and he is hoping that a similar big-city environment that he says exists in both New York City and Dubai will provide him with the same motivation and luck.

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Juan Martin del Potro and Marin Cilic. Both are 198cm tall, while the Argentine is one kilogram heavier than the Croatian. They were even born just five days apart in 1988. As such, it was fitting that they should be split by so little in their tennis, with Cilic edging out the more favoured Argentine over five tough sets, 5-7 6-4 7-5 5-7 6-3, to advance to the quarter-finals.

Del Potro, the reigning US Open champion and the No.4 seed here, has been hyped as the man leading the challenge against Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal’s dominance over the men’s game. Rumours of a wrist injury had dampened some expectations, but he still loomed as a genuine contender at this year’s Australian Open.

Enter the towering 14th-seeded Cilic. Having won his second consecutive Chennai Open, Cilic began 2010 in strong form. In progressing this far, he had fought through a five-set, late-night thriller against Australian teenager Bernard Tomic, then impressively knocked out the highly-rated Stanislas Wawrinka. Despite all this, it seemed that del Potro had the weapons and movement to push deep into the second week.

The opening set saw each man struggle to make any inroads into the other’s serve. When del Potro did finally land the decisive break, it was with some assistance – a Cilic double fault. Shortly afterwards, del Potro closed the set with an ace, seemingly with plenty in the tank.

After the early stages of the second set progressed in a similar vein, a number of del Potro errors in quick succession handed Cilic set points, which were gleefully accepted. Increasing his approaches to the net, the Croat was able to take the game up to his more-fancied opponent, and he levelled at one set-all.

Cilic had begun to look the more dangerous of two, with the Argentine appearing sluggish in his movement. Calling a medical timeout after losing the second set, del Potro received treatment on a foot injury rather than his much-talked-about wrist.

The Croatian continued his dominance at the net, a sensational drop volley giving him set points after del Potro became aggravated at repeated crowd interruptions. Cilic duly converted to take an epic 86-minute third set, and the possibility of a boilover appeared increasingly likely.

Even when not at his best, del Potro remains an outstanding ball striker, and in the 11th game of the fourth set was able to break Cilic to love. His forehand began to find its range, and as he sent the match to a fifth and final set, momentum seemed to shift in favour of the now fired-up Argentine.

With both players having endured five-set matches already in the tournament, fatigue had now well and truly set in. The contest was reduced to a slugfest, with Cilic making just eight of his 67 net approaches for the match in the final set. A wayward del Potro forehand gave Cilic the crucial break, before he saved break points of his own with an ace. Another long del Potro forehand gave Cilic a well-earned victory over four hours and 38 minutes.

Cilic’s work at the net and 21 more winners became the difference between a second successive Grand Slam quarter-final appearance and an early flight home, while del Potro, who came to Melbourne with great expectations, will leave outplayed and out-thought.

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U.S. Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro recovered from a set down to advance to the third round of the Australian Open after surviving a marathon battle against American James Blake Wednesday.

The fourth-seeded Del Potro had been in danger of becoming the highest-ranked men’s player to be eliminated before he rallied from a break down in the fifth set to take the match 6-4 6-7 5-7 6-3 10-8 in four hours, 17 minutes.

The 30-year-old American, who twice had treatment on his right knee that had to be strapped during the match, had held a 2-0 advantage in the final set though the tall Argentine managed to fight back to put the match back on serve.

Del Potro had the opportunity to serve for the match in the 12th game only to be denied by Blake before he finally took the advantage again in the 17th and sealed it with a massive serve that Blake was unable to return on the next game.

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Juan Martin Del Potro and Robin Soderling did not play at Kooyong after falling victim to injury.

US Open champion Del Potro pulled out with a wrist problem, while the Swedish world number eight has an elbow injury.

Soderling retired hurt after losing the first set 6-4 against Croatia’s Ivan Ljubicic, while Del Potro withdrew ahead of his semi-final against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France.

Last year’s beaten French Open finalist, Soderling said a tendinitis injury that has been troubling him since Wimbledon flared up during his dead rubber against Ljubicic.

“It was better yesterday, today I felt it a little bit more, so I figured I didn’t want to take any more risks,” he said.

“A lot of times, it gets better in just a couple of days, so with some rest and some treatment, I really hope I will feel good next week.”

Tsonga will now face Fernando Verdasco in the final after the Spaniard emerged as a strong Australian Open contender with a 6-1 6-2 demolition of world number three Novak Djokovic.

“I was feeling good today, despite the conditions,” said Verdasco, referring to the blustery winds swirling around the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club.

“Of course, the result was a surprise. You never go to the court, and even less, with a guy like Novak, and think that you are going to win 6-1 6-2.”

Djokovic played down the result as “good practice” for next week’s first Grand Slam event of the season.

“Today I didn’t feel good on the court,” admitted the Serb. “He played well, but I made too many unforced errors and that’s it.”

Top seed Tommy Robredo made a quarter-finals exit at the Heineken Open in Auckland, losing 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 6-4 to unseeded American John Isner.

The all-Spanish line-up of top four seeds at the New Zealand tournament are now out.

Second seed David Ferrer and fourth seeded Nicolas Almagro were beaten in Wednesday’s second round while third seed Juan Carlos Ferrero was forced to retire in the second round with an ankle injury.

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Del Potro, winner of the US Open title four months ago against Roger Federer, was on court for the first time since losing November’s season-ending final in London to Nikolay Davydenko, emerging with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Ivan Ljubicic.

The veteran Croatian was drafted into the eight-man tournament when world No 1 Federer declined the place he had been offered.

“I feel good with my tennis, I feel confident,” said 21-year-old Del Potro. “Of course, to beat Roger in the (US Open) final gave to me a lot of motivation and confidence to keep trying, keep working.

2008 Australian Open champion Djokovic, the world No 3 behind Federer and Rafael Nadal, needed less than an hour to defeat Tommy Haas 6-2, 6-3, after two losses to the 31-year-old German in 2009.

Djokovic said: “I got used to playing good tennis on Australian soil, I’m always happy to come back, I have a lot of support.

“Heat is not one of my allies, that’s for sure. But I definitely love playing here so I’m very excited about the tournament.”

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