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INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- In September, after Juan Martin del Potro took out Roger Federer in the quarterfinals of the US Open, robbing Fed fans of yet another opportunity to watch him potentially play Rafael Nadal in a final at Flushing Meadows, I wrote that the 6-foot-6 Argentinian was a gentle giant killer. The headline of that story pronounced del Potro as a "lovable spoiler." But in retrospect that might have been an understatement. With his 7-5, 6-7 (8), 7-6 (2) win over Federer on Sunday afternoon in the final of the BNP Paribas Open, del Potro showed a much different side. This was smash-mouth, in-your-face tennis. A day earlier, Federer, when asked to describe what it's like to play del Potro, said their tussles feel like an "arm wrestle." Heavyweight title bout might seem more accurate. For 2½ hours, they played as if they had nothing -- and everything -- to lose. "It was an unbelievable match in all ways," del Potro said after ending Federer's 17-match winning streak to start 2018. "I mean, we played a great level of tennis. I'm really enjoying playing tennis again. I had very bad moments a few years ago and I don't want to think about that anymore. I'm surprising myself every day, and I want to keep surprising the tennis tour." Del Potro is hardly a feel-good story anymore, the underdog scrapping his way back from three wrist surgeries between 2014 and 2015 that caused him to contemplate retirement. Or a one-time next-great-thing who never made good on that tag after winning his only Grand Slam at the 2009 US Open. He's no longer the guy with a great resume absent a Masters 1000 title. "[After my surgeries], I couldn't imagine this moment," del Potro said. "After that, I made a big effort to come back and play tennis with the slice. Then my backhand, it wasn't good enough to play at this level. But then during the [Rio] Olympics, after the [Novak] Djokovic match, my tennis life changed again.  "Then I won the Davis Cup and I said, 'OK, I don't have any more pressure to play tennis because I won everything I wanted except a Masters 1000.' But today I did that. Now I have everything I want, and I want to keep improving my game to see what more I can do. But I cannot believe I won this tournament, beating Roger in a great final." Yes, del Potro is still lovable. But he is a spoiler no more. The next time he faces Federer, it's hard to imagine the world No. 8 not being touted as the favorite. In the past year, they have played each other five times, with Federer winning three of those matches. But del Potro has outmuscled the 20-time Grand Slam champ when it mattered, beating him at the US Open and again Sunday to win his maiden Masters title. Could this be a preview of 2018 finals at Wimbledon and the US Open? With Djokovic struggling and Andy Murray, Nadal, Stan Wawrinka, Kei Nishikori and Nick Kyrgios all out with injuries, let's hope so. This is the rivalry tennis needs right now. "I'm not sure why the final record [with del Potro] is the way it is," Federer said. "A lot of them have been extremely tight. Most of them have gone the distance, so it's been tough against him. I feel frustrated that I let an opportunity like this go by. Standing at the trophy ceremony, I thought, 'I would like to play that tiebreaker again, because I don't know what the hell happened.'" Had Federer played that tiebreaker the way he'd competed the rest of the third set, had he made good on any of his three match points and gutted out a win in the way he did against Borna Coric on Saturday afternoon, it'd be hard to label Federer-Delpo the next great rivalry. But he didn't. Had del Potro not saved three match points and played confidently and composed in the final-set tiebreaker, it'd be tough to champion him as Federer's new foe. But he did. This was the 19th time in Federer's career he had match points and failed to win and only the second time in a final. The first came in the 2006 finale when he squandered two against Nadal in a match that defined the rivalry between them. But with Nadal absent from the tour for the time being, del Potro seems poised to become a nice replacement. Like Nadal, he even comes complete with his own rowdy fan base screaming in Spanish. Next week in Miami, they'll be Ruidoso as ever for a giant who might be gentle off the court, but on it ... well, just ask Roger Federer.
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