Juan Martin del Potro defends Stockholm Open title

Last week at the Shanghai Masters, Juan Martin del Potro took a tumble and landed on his surgically repaired wrist, putting his future participation in the tournament in doubt. He managed to play on, losing a tight three-setter to Roger Federer in the semifinals.

A week later, the Argentine went two steps further, capturing the title at the Stockholm Open in Sweden with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Grigor Dimitrov.

Playing in his first final of the year, del Potro defended his title over the top-seeded Dimitrov, who was going for his fourth tournament triumph in 2017. The Bulgarian advanced to the final without dropping a set, while on the bottom half of the draw, the fourth-seeded del Potro was pushed to at least one tiebreak in his three matches.

In the semifinals, the number-eight seed Fernando Verdasco pushed del Potro to the brink before the “Tower from Tandil” escaped in a third-set tiebreak.

Resilience has long been the trademark of the world No. 19, who’s dealt with numerous injuries the past few years that have put him on the comeback trail multiple times.

Now, the win in Stockholm puts him in the thick of the race for the final spot at the ATP World Tour Finals.