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The Baseline Player of the Week: Juan Martin del Potro

The defending champion of Stockholm won his first title since nab

ByNiko Vercelletto

Published Oct 23, 2017

Every week Baseline will select a “Player of the Week.” That athlete may not always win the highest category tournament that week, but perform the best compared to their recent playing history.

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On Sunday in Stockholm, Juan Martin del Potro captured his first title since winning the same title last year. It's his first title of 2017 and 20th overall.

After surviving a dramatic 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (1) semifinal against Fernando Verdasco, the Argentine didn't have as much trouble in the final against Grigor Dimitrov.

Del Potro dominated the 6-4, 6-2 match with his serve, producing nine aces and beating off every break point that he faced. Maybe more importantly than the trophy is that he is now in contention for the final qualifying spot for the ATP Finals in London.

The 29-year-old is only 470 points behind Pablo Carreno Busta, who currently occupies the eighth spot in the Race to London. Time will tell whether the world No. 19 can just squeak into the year-end championships.

He's playing in Basel this week, with 500 points up for grabs, and after that, it's over to the ATP Masters 1000 in Paris.