Juan Martin Del Potro Arrives

Gentle giant Juan Martin Del Potro continued his rapid ascent to new heights Monday, defeating Roger Federer in five sets for the U.S. Open championship and Del Potro's first Grand Slam singles title.
Del Potro's charge up the ranks began last summer when he won match after match in the second longest winning streak (23) on the men's tennis tour ever, a streak that was broken only in the quarterfinals of last year's U.S. Open by Andy Murray. Del Potro continued to rocket up the men's rankings since then, reaching the semis of the French Open earlier this year and now winning his first U.S. Open. Not many players can say they've beaten Nadal and Federer in the same tournament, and I can't think of anyone else who can say it in a Grand Slam. But Nadal and Federer may have to get more and more used to losing to Del Potro.
Yes, Federer has had a phenomenal year by any measure, winning half the Grand Slams singles titles in one year and getting to the finals of the other two is what, I believe, most would call an incredible year. Getting to 22 Grand Slam semi-finals in a row is unbelievable, if not downright gaudy. But at 28, Federer is getting relatively old for a tennis champion, even one as great as he has been, and Del Potro rather than Nadal may be the next great champion. Del Potro's game certainly is much easier to sustain than Nadal's grinding style, which made the six-time Grand Slam champion look as though he'd worn himself down as much as his opponents in this year's tourney.
As for the women's side, Kim Clijsters doubled her Grand Slam singles championships by stepping away from the court for a few years, having a baby and playing with her daughter instead of tennis on the days between matches. Somehow it seemed right that Clijsters would become the third woman ever to win a Grand Slam singles event as a mother. She's always seemed to have a mother's sweetness, even for those who hardly seemed to deserve it. Clijsters came back not just more fit, but much more mentally sharp, perhaps no longer caring too much about winning because she had everything in much better perspective.
Her opponent in the finals, Caroline Wozniacki, may have lost the finals, but she had an impressive showing at this year's U.S. Open and in her first Grand Slam finals. Her winning calmness on the court and greatly underrated backhand suggest their are even greater tournaments ahead for his young player. It will be interesting to see if she continues her own rapid ascent up the rankings.
As for victorious Americans at this year's U.S. Open, the Williams sisters won the women's doubles and Carly Gullickson and Travis Parrott won the mixed doubles. Winning two out of five events isn't half bad either. If Serena and the tour can get past her unfortunate outburst on Saturday, Venus and Serena could continue to bring something really special to the game and not just singles events--greater interest in doubles, in addition to team tennis. And who knows, if they entered more Grand Slam doubles events and Serena doesn't get an outsized suspension, they might even threaten to win four Grand Slam doubles titles in 2010.