Whether he's ranked No. 4 (his career-high ranking) or No. 484 (his current ranking), Juan Martin del Potro is good for a few shots that make you say, "he's pretty special."
Del Potro hit some of those Saturday night—my favorite was a low forehand swat that barely cleared the net and zoomed through the court—but not nearly enough to send him past Fernando Verdasco in the San Jose semis. You could credit some of that to Verdasco, who played stellar defense, but del Potro hurt his own cause with many untimely errors. He wasn't ready to stand toe-to-toe with an opponent of Verdasco's caliber—yet. Del Potro's first few events of 2011 have gone as well as could be expected. Assuming his wrist doesn't flare up again, the 2009 U.S. Open champ should continue to work his way back into Slam-winning form.
I also feel good about the winner of this match. As per usual, Verdasco, who won 6-4, 6-4 and faces super-serving Milos Raonic tomorrow, did a good job moving his adversary around the court. But he also mixed in first-strike tennis with strong returns and authoritative serving. He didn't need to go for the lines against del Potro, who isn't fleet of feet and isn't 100 percent. Of course, some of Verdasco's shots caught the lines—it's a part of his game that can't be completely reined in. He hasn't won a Slam and he's not coming back from a year-long injury, but hey, Verdasco's pretty special, too.
—Ed McGrogan