INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Since upsetting Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer to win the United States Open at the precocious age of 20, Juan Martín del Potro has had to wait and wait for his happy tennis endings.
The cumulative effect of four wrist surgeries nearly knocked him out of the game for good. He was on the verge of retirement at the end of 2015, and when he finally did make another comeback, he could no longer drive through his once-fearsome two-handed backhand.
Del Potro has persevered and conquered most of his doubts, but on Sunday, with Federer back across the net in the final of the BNP Paribas Open, del Potro had to be patient again.