Deadlocked at one set apiece, Juan Martin del Potro sat on his courtside seat, scanning the red clay like a man in search of a remedy. An aching left knee and a persistent pain-in-the-neck named Albert Montanes prompted del Potro to take treatment after saving break point to hold for a 2-1 third-set lead.
Then the ninth-seeded Argentine swallowed some anti-inflammatory pills and found a panacea in powerful baseline drives. Del Potro responded to a bumpy set and the balky knee by playing with more aggression in rolling through 11 of the last 13 games to wrap up a 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-1 victory over the veteran Spanish clay-courter.
The 2009 U.S. Open champion squandered a one-set and 4-2 lead, then blew a 5-2 advantage in a second-set tiebreaker before regaining his range and hitting through the 5-foot-9 Montanes, who was facing a massive size and strength gap—he giving up eight inches in height and about 50 pounds of weight.
Montanes has a low ball toss and quick service action that makes him look like a man trying to bang a nail into a wall. Del Potro won 13 of 21 points played on the Spaniard's first serve to break twice in the first set, closing when Montanes netted his one-handed backhand.
Relying on the clay-court craft that's helped him win five titles and the experience of playing in his 32nd consecutive major, Montanes did not panic when del Potro flattened out a forehand to break for a 2-1 second-set lead, which he eventually extended to 4-2. But a lengthy backhand exchange saw del Potro hit a backhand that skipped up off the baseline, which Montanes, adjusting to the high hop, unloaded with a blistering cross-court backhand pass to break for 4-4. The 65th-ranked Spaniard then exploited a series of errors to rally from 2-5 down in the breaker, stringing together five consecutive points to level. Montanes offered a clenched fist; del Potro exhaled audibly.
After unraveling, del Potro took a timeout before the start of the third set for a tape job—and not to his racquet grip. The trainer wrapped heavy white adhesive tape over the blue kiniseology tape he sported when he took the court. The sight of a hampered del Potro offered opportunity for Montanes, who struck an overhead winner for break point in the third game. Responding with aggression, del Potro fought it off when Montanes netted a forehand pass, then fired an ace to hold for 2-1.
Montanes hooked a forehand wide as del Potro broke for a 2-0 fourth-set lead. Now weary, Montanes pushed a backhand down the line into the top of the tape as del Potro extended his lead to 4-0. After erasing a break point with a backhand winner up the line, Del Potro closed a tricky test smacking a stinging serve out wide.
The 2009 French Open semifinalist could benefit from the Sunday start in that he'll have an extra day of rest before facing Edouard Roger-Vasselin in the second round. The 82nd-ranked Frenchman beat del Potro in their lone prior meeting on hard court at the 2009 Tokyo tournament.
