Top 10 Stories from the 2016 U.S. Open

Sep 7, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina hits a forehand against Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

8. Juan Martin Del Potro Caps Off a Comeback Summer

In 2009, Juan Martin Del Potro won this title. He was the first man outside the Big Four to win a slam since 2005. He would be the last until 2014. At the time, there was talk of his turning the Big Four into a Big Five; he had the game and the trajectory for it. Then the next year, he suffered his first wrist injury, and he’s never been the same since. After suffering his most recent one and needing his third surgery last year, he seriously considered quitting.

He’s got to be very happy now he didn’t. The US Open was not the biggest triumph of his summer; that was his second Olympic medal. But his run to the quarterfinals was a perfect cap to his comeback summer. It was his best run at a slam since 2014. It also was a huge help for his world ranking. He’d previously been back in the 100s and had needed a wild card just to compete at Flushing Meadows. Now he’s jumped up 80 spots and won’t have that problem again for a while.

His US Open ultimately ended in the wee hours of the morning to Stan Wawrinka. But when it came time for Wawrinka to serve the match out, the audience all rose to applaud del Potro getting as far as he had. It was enough to move the big Argentine to tears. That, he said afterwards, was better than any match win.

But arguably that wasn’t even the biggest comeback run of the tournament…

Next: Caroline Wozniacki’s Run to the Semi-Finals