Juan Martin del Potro stunned the world by becoming the first-ever Argentine to win the Indian Wells in 2018. The then 29-year-old had struggled with injuries throughout his career, however, he turned up with his best form against the Swiss maestro. del Porto snapped up Federer’s 17-match winning streak to claim his maiden ATP 1000 Masters title.
Juan Martin del Potro dominated with his big serve and strong returns when in full form. At his best, the Argentine was one of the best players in the world and in 2018, he showed up big time at Indian Wells. As a seeded player in the tournament, del Potro received a bye in the first round, before defeating Alex de Minaur, David Ferrer and Leonardo Mayer on his way to the quarterfinals.
In the quarters, del Potro defeated the 31st seed Philipp Kohlschreiber and made his way into the semifinals. Milos Raonic awaited him in the semi-final and the Argentine defeated the Canadian to enter the final. In the final, del Potro was up against the the then reigning Australian Open champion, Roger Federer.
Del Potro was involved in a thrilling Indian Wells final against Roger Federer, which the Argentine won 6-4 6-7 (8-10) 7-6 (7-2). In a see-saw match, del Potro won the first set before losing the second one to the Swiss star. In the final third set, Federer was serving for the match and even had three championship points.
However, del Potro held his nerve and ended up winning the match in tie-break to win the match. This was the best result of the Argentine’s career, since his US Open triumph in 2009 and he climbed the ranking to No.3, his career best.
On the other hand, Roger Federer was denied his 6th Indian Wells title. Federer won his first title back in 2004. However, he continues to lead the pack in the all-time record of having the most number of Indian Wells titles by any men’s singles player, i.e., 5 which is the same as his big rival, Novak Djokovic.
Juan Martin del Potro prize money earnings and career record
Juan Martin del Potro was the ‘gentle giant’ of tennis. The Argentine superstar was very unfortunate with injuries throughout his career and decided to retire in 2022. The Argentine Open in 2022 was the first tournament that the Argentine competed in for two and a half years. However, over the course of his career, del Potro thrilled the fans and won a place in their hearts.
Juan Martin del Potro won $25,896,046 USD in prize money throughout his career. The Argentine added 22 trophies to his trophy cabinet including the US Open title and Indian Wells trophy. At his peak, del Potro was regarded as one of the best players in the world, however, injuries ruined his peculiar talent. Although the Argentine could not achieve as much success as he would have liked, the 2018 Indian Wells title will remain of the best moments of his career.
