Del Potro's appeal could transcend tribalism of Davis Cup

In the absence of the injured Roger Federer -- last seen taking the mountain air in Switzerland -- Juan Martin Del Potro might just be the most adored man in tennis.

Though after all the affection and euphoria that Del Potro's comeback appearances have been generating across three continents of late, in Europe, South America and then North America, he is possibly about to reach the limit of his global appeal with a long weekend in Glasgow, the city of Andy Murray's birth.

Think of the Davis Cup semifinal between Britain and Argentina, which begins on Friday at the Emirates Arena, as the ultimate test of Del Potro's new gilded status. It has often been said that you can put Federer on any court in the world, even against a local in a Davis Cup rubber, and the crowd can't bring themselves to turn on him, and perhaps 'Delpo', as he is known, is now in that category.

Consider the noise, emotion and "craziness" in New York when he defeated Steve Johnson in the second round of the US Open -- it's not often that someone is treated so warmly when playing, and beating, an American in America. How will it play out when he faces a Scottish opponent in Scotland, before an audience which is a good two, three times more vocal than the spectators on Wimbledon's Centre Court? Perhaps, like Federer, Del Potro's appeal really will transcend the tribalism of the Davis Cup.

Though let's not be so foolish as to imagine that Del Potro -- a former US Open champion, and the silver medallist at the Rio Olympics -- should be expecting a Glaswegian love-in. Or a repeat of what happened in New York during his US Open quarterfinal defeat to eventual champion Stan Wawrinka when the galleries gave him a standing ovation and sung "Ole, ole, ole, Delpo, Delpo".

Seven years after hitting through Federer to win the 2009 US Open title, Del Potro has had another summer of euphoria. Despite his modest position in the world rankings of No. 64 as he pulls himself up the standings again -- and that's a distinct improvement on his pre-US Open status when that was a triple-digit number -- Del Potro would currently be on the top line of any worldwide popularity chart.

So above even Murray, the Wimbledon and Olympic champion, with the pair expected to play singles on Friday, in what will be a rematch of the gold-medal match in Rio. Del Potro hasn't played a singles rubber in the Davis Cup for four years, though that should hardly have a bearing on the indoor hard court in Scotland. Of far greater relevance is how he has been performing at such a high level of late, including tormenting Murray in Brazil.

"It's going to be interesting, I think. All of the British guys are playing well, and they are the favourites to win, but this is the Davis Cup so anything can happen," Del Potro has said.

Del Potro's re-emergence as a force at the top of the game -- after missing so many years to wrist operations, and coming so close to quitting -- is one reason for his surging popularity. Another is his emotional nature. There isn't a more open and emotional man in tennis; it's been a rarity this summer to see him without pink eyes and his head buried in a towel.

Recall his reaction at Wimbledon, at what was his first Grand Slam for more than two years, when he defeated Wawrinka in the second round -- as he put it, it was a victory that made him feel alive again. Listening to comments like that, no wonder the tennis public have fallen for him,and fallen hard.

That connection between Del Potro and his global followers was only strengthened by his Olympic-standard hitting and Olympic-standard emoting and hugging in Brazil, with his first-round victory over Novak Djokovic possibly the most emotional contest of any sport at the Games with both winner and loser weeping as they left the court. More tears followed when he defeated Rafael Nadal in the semifinal and again after losing a four-setter to Murray. The Olympics brought some of the happiest times of his life, he has said.

And the US Open wasn't bad either, with the singing and chanting during his match against Wawrinka moving him to tears. 'Beloved', people said, and that wasn't over-selling him.

Del Potro has the power and danger in his arm to blast a hole in Murray's and Britain's Davis Cup ambitions. And yet, for all that, Glasgow might still reveal a fondness for the man.

Andy Murray seeded second and Johanna Konta No17 at Wimbledon

Andy Murray will be seeded second at Wimbledon as the British No1 targets his third grand slam title.

Murray, who ended Britain’s 77-year wait for a men’s champion at the All England Club in 2013, will be in a separate half to the top seed Novak Djokovic when the draw is made on Friday.

In the women’s tournament, Johanna Konta is the first British female to be seeded at Wimbledon since Jo Durie in 1984. Konta is seeded 17th.

Her placing is a reward for a remarkable 12 months, in which she has reached the last 16 at the US Open and the semi-finals at the Australian Open. The 25-year-old’s world ranking has shot up from 146th to 18th.

Murray’s seeding means he cannot face the world No1 Djokovic, who currently holds all four grand slam titles, until the final. Murray has lost 13 of his last 15 matches against the Serb, including the Australian and French Open finals this year, but he has won their last two meetings on grass.

The 17-times major champion Roger Federer is seeded third and his Swiss compatriot Stan Wawrinka four. Canada’s Milos Raonic, who has hired John McEnroe as coach, is sixth.

Serena Williams will be top seed in the women’s draw as the American looks to equal Steffi Graf’s open-era record by sealing a 22nd grand slam triumph.

Williams has failed at the last hurdle in her last two major tournaments, enduring surprise defeats at the Australian and French Open finals this year.

Her conqueror at Roland Garros, Garbiñe Muguruza of Spain, is seeded second with Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska, the 2012 finalist, third.

Seedings at Wimbledon are determined using a combination of a player’s ranking points and their results in grass-court matches. Play at the third grand slam tournament of the year starts on Monday.

List of seeds

MEN

1 Novak Djokovic (Serbia)

2 Andy Murray (Britain)

3 Roger Federer (Switzerland)

4 Stan Wawrinka (Switzerland)

5 Kei Nishikori (Japan)

6 Milos Raonic (Canada)

7 Richard Gasquet (France)

8 Dominic Thiem (Austria)

9 Marin Cilic (Croatia)

10 Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic)

11 David Goffin (Belgium)

12 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France)

13 David Ferrer (Spain)

14 Roberto Bautista Agut (Spain)

15 Nick Kyrgios (Australia)

16 Gilles Simon (France)

17 Gaël Monfils (France)

18 John Isner (US)

19 Bernard Tomic (Australia)

20 Kevin Anderson (South Africa)

21 Philipp Kohlschreiber (Germany)

22 Feliciano López (Spain)

23 Ivo Karlovic (Croatia)

24 Alexander Zverev (Germany)

25 Viktor Troicki (Serbia)

26 Benoît Paire (France)

27 Jack Sock (US)

28 Sam Querrey (US)

29 Pablo Cuevas (Uruguay)

30 Alexandr Dolgopolov (Ukraine)

31 João Sousa (Portugal)

32 Lucas Pouille (France)

WOMEN

1 Serena Williams (US)

2 Garbiñe Muguruza (Spain)

3 Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland)

4 Angelique Kerber (Germany)

5 Simona Halep (Romania)

6 Victoria Azarenka (Belarus)

7 Roberta Vinci (Italy)

8 Belinda Bencic (Switzerland)

9 Venus Williams (US)

10 Madison Keys (US)

11 Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic)

12 Timea Bacsinszky (Switzerland)

13 Carla Suárez Navarro (Spain)

14 Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia)

15 Samantha Stosur (Australia)

16 Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic)

17 Johanna Konta (Britain)

18 Elina Svitolina (Ukraine)

19 Sloane Stephens (US)

20 Dominika Cibulkova (Slovakia)

21 Sara Errani (Italy)

22 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Russia)

23 Jelena Jankovic (Serbia)

24 Ana Ivanovic (Serbia)

25 Barbora Strycova (Czech Republic)

26 Irina-Camelia Begu (Romania)

27 Kiki Bertens (Netherlands)

28 Coco Vandeweghe (US)

29 Lucie Safarova (Czech Republic)

30 Daria Kasatkina (Russia)

31 Caroline Garcia (France)

32 Kristina Mladenovic (France)

Australian Open Finals: Here's Why Andy Murray Will Beat Novak Djokovic

Andy Murray will surely beat Novak Djokovic when the two meet Sunday in the Australian Open finals. Of that, I can be sure — unless, of course, you read something that says the exact opposite.

Murray’s run in this tournament hasn’t been exquisitely smooth. He only lost a combined 11 games in his first two matches, but 32nd-ranked Joao Sousa took a set off him in the third round and he later had a tight three-set win vs. Bernard Tomic. Then, in the semifinals, Milos Raonic won two of the first three sets vs. Murray, meaning Murray had to battle back for the 4-6, 7-5, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 6-2 victory to advance to the finals for the third time in four years.

But the five-setter shouldn’t affect Murray’s chance vs. Djokovic. As former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash said, via the BBC: “This match won’t have taken an awful lot out of Murray — the rallies weren’t that long. He was moving very well at the end and was playing confidently. He knows where he failed in last year’s final against Djokovic. He knows he must keep the pressure up and can’t afford any lapses. Last year he was at himself the whole time. He shouldn’t have been but he couldn’t stop himself and for his sake I’m hoping he has learnt the lessons from that and can control his emotions.”

Andy Murray is playing in his third Australian Open finals in the past four years. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

Thus, one should make no mistake. Murray will beat Djokovic in a rematch from the 2015 Australian Open finals. Here are three reasons why.

1) Murray has successfully battled through his off-court distractions:Coming into the tournament, Murray had plenty of thoughts on his mind. Murray’s pregnant wife, Kim Sears, is due to give birth to their first child soon, and earlier in the tournament, his father-in-law, Nigel Sears, collapsed in the stands and had to be rushed to the hospital. Murray has had some emotional moments on the court during the tournament and he even considered withdrawing altogether, but he’s fought through those moments effectively. “Things have obviously happened with family at other stages, but not in the middle of a Grand Slam and with Kim obviously heavily pregnant, as well,” Murray said, via the Mirror.

“One thing I’ve done very well is fight for every single point and not given away games. Even when I’ve been broken, I’ve fought hard in the next game and made it very difficult for my opponents. Although I’m not exactly being very positive with myself, I’m still very difficult for my opponents and fighting hard for every point. I’m more proud of how I’ve handled myself away from the court. I think I’ve dealt with everything away from the court better than I have on it probably.”

2) Although Murray has been dominated by Djokovic lately, he still has confidence: Since the beginning of 2014, Djokovic has beaten Murray in 10 of the 11 matches they’ve played, calling to mind the dominance of Serena Williams and her 18-straight victories vs. Maria Sharapova. But Murray, who has a 9-21 lifetime record vs. Djokovic, has beaten him in big arenas — triumphing in the 2013 Wimbledon and 2012 U.S. Open finals — and he seemingly is still confident in himself. “I have a very good shot on Sunday if I play my best tennis,” Murray said, via the Guardian. “… I don’t think many people are expecting me to win. I just have to believe in myself, have a solid game plan, and hopefully execute it. It doesn’t matter what’s happened in the past. People like to read into what’s happened, but Stan [Wawrinka] beat Rafa [Nadal] in the final here [in 2014]. He’d never won against him in [12] attempts. There’s no reason it’s not possible for me to win.”

True or false: Early 2016 tennis predictions

After a thrilling 2015 tennis season on both the men's and women's tours, we have a moment to catch our breath and look into the future. Will Serena maintain her WTA dominance? And will Andy Murray's momentum continue into the 2016 Slam season? Our experts weigh in on these issues and more.

Andy Murray will parlay his Davis Cup championship into at least one Grand Slam title in 2016.

Bodo: False. Winning the Davis Cup in 2010 was clearly a springboard for Novak Djokovic's three-Slam performance in 2011. The thing is, Andy Murray is not Djokovic, and he's not at a comparable stage of his career. The problem for Murray is he isn't the superior player at any of the majors, partly because he's a better three-set than five-set performer. Barring a major, unexpected upset or two at a Grand Slam event, Murray simply isn't consistently good enough to hammer his way through to the championship.

Garber: True. It's been a while since he won his two previous majors -- the 2012 US Open and 2013 Wimbledon -- but as his Davis Cup triumphs prove, he can still find the fire. Next year, he'll put a lot less energy into Davis Cup and more into the Grand Slams. I don't think it's a stretch to see him winning either Wimbledon or the US Open again.

Isaacson: True. It's as good a time as any, since Murray is physically fit, had as consistent a 2015 season as he ever has, and is riding some pretty decent momentum. He said he's gunning for the two Slam titles he hasn't yet won -- the Australian and French Opens -- and he was close in both in 2015, losing to Novak Djokovic twice (in the finals in Melbourne and semis in Paris). Fatherhood (in February) could inspire him. If he doesn't win one in 2016, it will be a disappointment for the world No. 2.

Novak Djokovic will win at least three of the big five events in 2016 (including the Olympics).

Bodo: True. Now that Djokovic has 10 majors, he'll be super motivated to catch Rafael Nadal's 14 and perhaps even Roger Federer's record 17. Time is on the 28-year-old Djokovic's side. Federer is 34. Nadal struggled through 2015 and didn't even make a major semifinal. Djokovic is 21-9 against his true generational rival, Murray, having prevailed in nine of their past 10 matches. And Djokovic is an overpowering 19-4 against two-time Slam winner Stan Wawrinka. Three of the big five events of 2016 will be on hard courts, including the Rio Olympics. Djokovic could win them all -- and more.

Garber: False. The past three times a man has won three of the four majors (Roger Federer in 2007, Rafael Nadal in 2010 and Djokovic in 2011), he followed that up by reaching three Grand Slam singles finals the following year -- and winning only one. The triple-Slam effort simply takes too much out of the body and mind. The Olympics make this one interesting; I can see a scenario in which Murray, Nadal and a surprise mystery guest (Milos Raonic, Kei Nishikori, Grigor Dimitrov?) win three of the five big titles.

Isaacson: False. I want to say true, merely because of how much he looked to want payback after reluctantly playing the evil role to Fed's good in September's US Open final. I also want to say yes because he was so dominant in 2015. But if the Open showed us anything, it's that even Djokovic can be vulnerable at times, and with the Olympics thrown in, it's tough to imagine he will have the mental and physical stamina to pull off three of the big five.

Rafael Nadal is more likely than Roger Federer to win a Grand Slam in 2016.

Bodo: False. No disrespect to Nadal who's been down on his luck, but in 2015, he left Federer all alone on the "Stop Djokovic" bandwagon. Throw in Nadal's nagging health issues, ranging over time from bad knees to a sore back to a bad elbow to a bad wrist, and it's obvious his two priorities for the new year will be finding -- and maintaining -- his vanished consistency and remaining healthy. Sure, he could win the French Open for a 10th time, but based on what we saw in 2015, he will have enough trouble doing that -- never mind any of the other majors.

Garber: True. It was terrific to see Federer get the finals at Wimbledon, the US Open and the Barclays in London. But at age 34, he just doesn't have the stuff to take down an in-form Djokovic. Rafa had some pep in his step in London, and even though he failed to win a major for the first time in 11 years, he will rebound with his 10th French Open title next spring.

Isaacson: True. This is not to say that either Rafa or Fed will win a Slam in 2016; I don't think they will. But Nadal may be slightly more likely, if only because as much as 2015 seemed to signal the beginning of the end, he is not looking presently like a man who wants to retire very soon. He reached the finals in Beijing and Basel, beat Wawrinka and Murray in the ATP Finals round-robin, and is much healthier than he has been recently. A Slam in '16 is not inconceivable.

Serena Williams will end 2016 as the world No. 1.

Bodo: True. Serena Williams is due for a big letdown after her spectacular 2015. So what? The rest of her WTA peers amply demonstrated that none of them has the chops, or the game, to step in and dominate. That means Serena could have an off year and still end up No. 1. Her most dangerous challenger at the moment appears to be No. 3 Garbine Muguruza. But it's not at all certain that the 22-year-old has the consistency to play at an elite level week in, week out.

Garber: True. At the moment, Serena is nearly 3,900 points ahead of the No. 2-ranked Simona Halep. Even if she takes a predictable step backward from her wondrous 2015 season, Serena has enough of a cushion to stay at No. 1.

Isaacson: True. Virtually every time we count her out, she surprises us, and as far away from tennis as she seems to be right now, Serena still has the capability to hold onto that ranking, if nothing else. She has plenty of points to defend next year, but she also has a huge head start on the rest of the pack.

Venus Williams will finish 2016 in the top 10.

Bodo: True. Venus Williams had a great 2015, finishing No. 7. Expect more of the same in 2016. She's 35, but that's not an overwhelming handicap in today's game. The grind is easier for her to bear as long as her sister Serena is around. The two love playing doubles together. And the Olympics mean a lot to both Williams sisters. That will motivate Venus in the early part of 2016 because staying in the top eight will guarantee her critical seeding advantages. Her health could be the determining factor in her status.

Garber: False. While it was great to see Venus go 41-13 this year, win three titles and $2.4 million, and finish at No. 7, there are a handful of far younger players lurking just behind her. Karolina Pliskova, Timea Bacsinszky, Carla Suarez Navarro, Belinda Bencic and Madison Keys would love to vault over Venus. Plus, Caroline Wozniacki -- outside the top 15 for the first time in eight years -- is due for a better season.

Isaacson: True. This is a tough one because Venus popped back into the top 10 in 2015 for the first time in four years. It was no fluke in a year made up mostly of bad draws -- she was in Serena's half in every major -- and Venus finished the year with two titles in the China swing, and her best overall season since 2007. Even with the Karolina Pliskovas and Timea Bacsinszkys of women's tennis bearing down on the top 10, there is room for a motivated Venus to hang in.