By Alexia Krause
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| Juan Martin del Potro enters quarterfinals in Basel |
BASEL, Switzerland (TheSportsNEXT) October 26, 2012: Juan Martin del Potro of Argentine defeated Brian Baker of United States by 7-5 6-1 to storm his way into quarterfinals of the Swiss Indoors Basel on Thursday, which also gave him qualification into the season-ending prestigious event of ATP World Tour Finals.
Juan Martin del Potro became the sixth player to qualify into the ATP World Tour Finals, joining Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, David Ferrer, and Tomas Berdych with Rafael Nadal out of the tournament due to a left knee injury.
The prestigious ATP World Tour Finals will be played at the O2 Arena in London from November 5-12, 2012 where eight top players in the ATP Tour Rankings will try their talent to achieve the pinnacles. The eight players will be divided into two groups where each player will play three matches before semi-finals and final.
Del Potro, who was seeded second in the Basel event, was delighted to be part of the ATP elite but at the same time he also felt for Rafael Nadal who has been kept out of the tennis action since June.
Speaking to reporters after his victory, Juan Martin del Potro talked about Rafael Nadal as he said, “I'm sad for Rafa, he's really trying in his comeback. But it's not easy after such a long time away. I had the same feeling with my wrist. We miss Rafa a lot on the Tour. He is one of the best players in history, he will come back strong. I'm sure it will be very soon. He will be ready to win a big event again, I know that he can play better than me when he makes his comeback, I wish all the best to him."
This is the third time in his career that the big-serving Argentinean ace will feature in the ATP World Tour Finals where his best performance came in 2009 when he lost it in the final.
The Year 2012 has been quite a fruitful one for Del Potro as he won three ATP Tour titles this season at the Open 12 in Marseille, the Estoril Open, and the Erste Bank Open in Vienna last week.
Del Potro told reporters, “For me it’s a gift for my effort during the year. Being in that tournament means a lot. It’s only eight players fighting for one tournament. It’s the best eight players of the year, so it’s very important to me. I’m so glad to be there once again. I will be fighting against the big names in London and maybe I’ll have a chance to make another final.”
Confirming Juan Martin del Potro as the sixth player for the ATP World Tour Finals, ATP Executive Chairman and President, Brad Drewett said, “We’re delighted to welcome Juan Martin back to the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals where he made such a big impact back in 2009 by reaching the final. He has one of the biggest games on tour and is an exciting addition to what will be a fantastic player field in London.”
With two berths still up for grabs at the ATP World Tour Finals, there are four players in the race including Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Janko Tipsarevic, Richard Gasquet and Nicolas Almagro.
Following are the other second round results at the Swiss Indoors Basel.
Mikhail Youzhny (Russia) beat Matthew Ebden (Australia) 6-3, 6-1
Benoit Paire (France) beat Lukasz Kubot (Poland) 6-4, 6-4
Paul-Henri Mathieu (France) beat Nikolay Davydenko (Russia) 6-3, 6-7 (2/7), 6-4
Barclays ATP World Tour Finals - The Contenders
Pos. Name YTD Points Playing
1. N. Djokovic (SRB) 11,410 Paris, London
2. R. Federer (SUI) 9,255 Basel, Paris, London
3. A. Murray (GBR) 7,510 Paris, London
4. R. Nadal (ESP) (withdrawn) 6,840 withdrawn (knee)
5. D. Ferrer (ESP) 4,780 Valencia, Paris, London
6. T. Berdych (CZE) 4,225 Paris, London
7. J. M. del Potro (ARG) 3,740 Basel, Paris, London
8. J. Tsonga (FRA) 3,310 Valencia, Paris
9. J. Tipsarevic (SRB) 2,810 Valencia, Paris
10. N. Almagro (ESP) 2,425 Valencia, Paris
11. R. Gasquet (FRA) 2,415 Basel, Paris
12. J. Monaco (ARG) 2,340 Valencia, Paris
13. M. Raonic (CAN) 2,290 Valencia, Paris
14. J. Isner (USA) 2,205 Valencia, Paris
15. M. Cilic (CRO) 2,200 Valencia, Paris
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