Juan Martin Del Potro will start his 2012 season at the Apia International in Sydney, the organisers have confirmed.
Del Potro began his full comeback from the wrist injury which plagued him during 2010 at the Apia International back in January and the former US Open champion has rewarded the faith of the organisers by returning to the event to begin his new assault on the top ten.
“Sydney is a great city and I like the tournament very much,” Del Potro said. “In Sydney they gave me one of the first wild cards after my injury and I appreciate this very much from them."
Del Potro ended 2011 very strongly, finishing the year ranked 11 in the world and also leading his country to the final of the Davis Cup. Ultimately Argentina came up short against Spain but Del Potro won himself many fans with his epic performances against Rafa Nadal and David Ferrer and many believe he is ready to return to the top five.
Sydney director Craig Watson is among those people. "We are delighted that Juan Martin del Potro will begin his season at the Apia International Sydney again,” Watson said. “He played one of the matches of the tournament in 2011 against Feliciano Lopez in the first round and I know he won a lot of new fans in Sydney with that gutsy performance."
“He is close to getting back to the form that took him to the US Open title in 2009, as well as wins over Federer and Nadal. I’m certain he will come to the Apia International Sydney early in the New Year fired up and ready to get his season off to a winning start.”
