Former world's no.1 Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will not go deeper as Juan Martin Del Potro at the 2017 Australian Open Championships this January, ESPN Tennis writer Peter Bodo shared his fearless forecast for the first Grand Slam tournament of the season.
Bodo believes Del Potro, who just had a spirited run last season after going through injuries the last 2-3 years, will keep on rising as a major threat in big-money tournament such as the Australian Open.
After bagging the silver at the Rio Olympics and leading Argentina to their first Davis Cup championship in years, Del Potro will continue to make his presence felt by going deeper at Australian Open.
The surprising part about Bodo's prediction is the thought that Del Potro might achieve a semifinal or final spot at Aussie Open by beating Federer and Nadal back-to-back, a feat he already made when he bagged the US Open championship in 2009.
Bodo explained:
"Del Potro wrote one of the great feel-good stories of 2016. He mounted a spectacular comeback following a series of wrist injuries and surgeries that essentially ruined his career following his triumph at the 2009 US Open. At that tournament, he defeated Nadal and Federer back-to-back to win his lone major.
Federer is now 35, and Nadal is 30. Ranked Nos. 16 and 9, respectively, both are coming back from long injury-induced layoffs. Wouldn't it be ironic if No. 38 del Potro met and defeated them in successive matches again -- preferably in the second week. Yikes!"
Bodo's prediction cannot be bolder as it gets. Counting out Federer and Nadal in big tourney has long been considered a cardinal sin. However, with the way the landscape has changed the last year, the tennis writer may have a point here. Federer and Nadal are now in their 30s, while Del Potro is still a fresh 28-year old veteran, considering the layoff he had in his career. So it makes sense, right or nah?