[Gustavo Kuerten]

Haha, even Nadal thinks Murray is a joke.

[Amukinado]

Originally Posted by shiaben

The funny thing about Murray and Del Potro match-up is this.

Tennis loses in the worst way ever.

Murray doesn't defeat him so much via technique. He defeats more relying on fitness. How pathetic is that? So Del Potro has the talent and tools to defeat Murray anywhere at anytime, but the problem is, his fitness lets him down, and thanks to that, Murray can defeat him at slams in that manner.

Yeah... Murray the fitness god. lol

[Super Djoker]

It took Novak 3 Years to win his second Slam! next Year it will be 3 Years since Del Po won the US Open! I am as in the dark as everyone about 2012! The World could end! i wouldent be surprised if it co,insides with Murray winning a slam! Can,t believe Del Boy has never won a Masters!

[finishingmove]

dig at federer

[r3d_d3v1l_]

You just need to watch how he handled Djokovic in RG and Nadal in Wimbledon (he should have won this match, if it wasn´t for that sneaky MTO), to know that he has the game to beat anyone. It´s just a shame he had that wrist injury.

[timafi]

well if Del Potro stays healthy and has a good AO;Miami;IW and good CCS he will be in the top 4 both Nadal and Federer have lost to Juan on hc in slams and would rather face Murray no matter the surface compared to DP in a slam as proven .See 2009 FO semis vs Roger and Sunday against Nadal in Madrid

[Egreen]

Maybe Nadal thinks Del Potro will win a slam in 2012. After all the last time Del Potro reached the Davis cup final(2008) he won the USO the following year. Whoever goes slamless in 2012(think who is the most likely) might drop to #5, IF Del Potro rises to #4.

[Saberq]

Originally Posted by r3d_d3v1l_

You just need to watch how he handled Djokovic in RG and Nadal in Wimbledon (he should have won this match, if it wasn´t for that sneaky MTO), to know that he has the game to beat anyone. It´s just a shame he had that wrist injury.

he lost both matches ........and Novak kicked his ass in 3 out of 4 sets

[GOAT = Fed]

Interesting comments. I personally do not feel that Del Potro will reach top 4 next year. Even at his peak, in 2009, he was ranked no.5, and I certainly cannot see him reaching that peak next year. He still needs a lot of improvement on his movement and serve to break into the top 4. His consistency is also a problem, a few times this year we've seen vintage Del Potro, but he hasn't showed up a lot .

[Myrre]

Then "the big four" will all have won slams

[buzz]

I think top 6 is a safe bet, and top 4 wouldn't really surprise me..

[Warrior]

Originally Posted by Super Djoker

It took Novak 3 Years to win his second Slam! next Year it will be 3 Years since Del Po won the US Open! I am as in the dark as everyone about 2012! The World could end! i wouldent be surprised if it co,insides with Murray winning a slam! Can,t believe Del Boy has never won a Masters!

I think 2013 will be his year. Right now he's simply not ready to challenge top 4. Delpo will definitely improve his rankings next year. Likely top 8, not top 4.

[swisht4u]

He ended up at #11 this year and was not near his best and even skipped some tournaments.
When he hits his best as he's done in the past it came on suddenly, in 2008 he came out of nowhere and won 4 straight, I had to look him up at the time to see who he actually was.

In 2009 he hit his peak around the USO, before that he did very well but had endurance problems. His level at the end of the year was at least top 4.

Being older now he should be able to play at a higher level, all the elements are just about there now.

I'll be looking for some breakout tournament early next year, after that he should gain a lot of confidence. Once he has confidence in his shotmaking you'll see what DelPo is all about and his real prime.

[Gagsquet]

You forgot the last part of his quote, "he will replace me in it".

[delpiero7]

Originally Posted by swisht4u

DelPo ended #11 this year, skipped tournaments and didn't play consistently especially late in the year.

Pretty good ranking for not being near your best.
He should improve a lot, if just the endurance is improved without anything else he'll move up some spots.

Spot on.

Delpo was 65 points away from finishing in the top 10, despite his poor/mediocre slam results and skipping the final 2 Masters tourneys of the year. Not bad considering that he was ranked nearly 500 after the Australian Open.

Top 4 is a long way off being 11th, but with a year back on tour under his belt, there is no way that he fails to improve significantly on this season (especially considering his slam results this season).