A couple of weeks ago I outlined the top forehands of the open era. In my list, I included Juan Martin Del Potro. Little did I know he would go down to Acapulco, unleash that monster forehand, and completely dominate a strong field on his way to his first 500 series ATP tournament in almost five years. The Mexican Open was loaded with top players this year. On his way to the title, he beat Alexander Zverev (5) and his brother Mischa (53), Dominique Thiem (6), David Ferrer (former #4), and Kevin Anderson (9) in the final. That list is not too shabby. He was aggressive, consistent and pretty much better than everyone else for the week.

At Indian Wells, Del Potro has a pretty tough draw. If he wants to go deep, he will have to get possibly get through Djokovic in the round of 16, Cilic in the quarters, Alexander Zverev in the semifinals, and Federer in the finals. The good news is that he won’t need to contend with Nadal, who is recovering from a hip injury he sustained at the Australian.

Del Potro showed flashes of the player that won the 2009 U.S. Open in Acapulco and it will be interesting to see if he can claim his place at the top of the men’s tour this year – where he belongs. When Del Potro is healthy, he has shown to be a top four player. The problem is that he has been plagued by injuries for large chunks in the last nine years. It’s too bad because he is well liked off the court and has been praised for his sportsmanship. I vividly recall Del Potro consoling a distraught Nicolas Almagro after he collapsed with an injury that ended their second round 2017 French Open encounter. I would love to see him go deep in the Indian Wells draw and play Federer in the final. The way he’s been playing, it’s entirely possible.