Del Potro told the Herald he chose to return to Auckland to have the best possible preparation for the Australian Open, and also because of the great memories of the last time he was here, and the year that followed.
"Auckland was an important tournament for me, it was the first one after the great 2008 that I had, a year in which I won four tournaments in a row, reached the quarters at the US Open and the Davis Cup final," del Potro told the Herald. "So I chose Auckland to get off to a good start and have the best preparation for the Australian Open."
Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina. Photo / Getty Images.
The 29-year-old is one of the biggest male names to grace the Stanley Street courts since the start of this decade. The men's tournament has had some top players, including David Ferrer, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils but Del Potro probably surpasses them all.
He's one of the most popular players on tour, and one of the few who is a genuine threat to the big four of Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.
At the 2009 US Open he became the first person to beat both Nadal and Federer at the same grand slam. He beat Federer in an unforgettable four hour, five-set final, breaking a 41-match winning streak in New York for the Swiss, who was coming off five consecutive US Open titles.
It was the only major won by someone outside the `big four' (Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Murray) between 2005 and 2013.
Besides Djokovic and Nadal, he remains the only other player to beat Federer in a grand slam final and is one of just three active players (Stan Wawrinka and Tomas Berdych are the others) who can claim three wins or more over each of the 'big four'.
He broke back into the top 20 last year for the first time since 2014 – after taking a title in Stockholm, reaching the last four in New York (beating Federer in the quarter final en route) and Shanghai and making the final in Basel.
A decent result in Auckland will see the 29-year-old back in the top 10, before an assault on the Australian Open, which remains the only grand slam where he hasn't reached at least the semifinal stage.
"Of course I wish I could win more big tournaments and climb in the rankings but the main goal for me after all my surgeries is to stay healthy," said del Potro, who has had four wrist operations since 2010.
"After all that happened to me in the recent years, I am so grateful to be playing on the tour. In 2016, I couldn't play two or three tournaments in a row.
"By the end of 2017, I played five consecutive weeks. So that's a huge improvement."
