Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro pulled off an incredible upset over Novak Djokovic late on Sunday only to return to the court less than 15 hours later to defeat Joao Sousa of Portugal and advance to the third round at the Rio Olympics.
After battling through three wrist surgeries in the past two seasons that kept him out of the game, Del Potro is slowly crawling back to his previous grand slam-winning form and his performances in Rio in the last 24 hours are evidence of his progress.
Having taken out the top seed, in Djokovic, and with fifth seeded Tsonga out in round two, Del Potro’s draw has opened up and he could very much add to the bronze he won in London 2012.
Del Potro's Stats
- 4 - four wrist surgeries he has had in total, three on his left wrist, one on his right.
- 40 - minutes Del Potro was stuck in an elevator on Sunday before the Djokovic match.
- 45 - forehand winners he struck against Djokovic and Sousa.
- 0 - break points Del Potro faced against Djokovic in round one.