A great week at the Indian Wells reiterated the belief that Juan Martin del Potro could be the next big thing in tennis and even led many to consider that the Argentine could once again break into the top-five within a couple of months.
In fact, Del Potro was a top contender for the Miami Masters despite the presence of the Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.
However, a disappointing and an unexpected 6-7, 1-6 loss to Tobias Kamke in a rain-interrupted match at the Sony Open a few days after making to the finals of the Indian Wells Masters led many to wonder if the 24-year-old can actually hold on to his form on a consistent basis, which is very much required if one has to make into the top-five of the world as listed out by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).
A couple of days before the third-round match against the German Kamke at Miami, Del Potro had ended Novak Djokovic's 22-match winning streak with a stunning victory in the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open.
Del Potro's impressive run at the Indian Wells also included an intense three-set win over World No.
3 Andy Murray in the quarterfinals of the Masters event.
What was more astonishing was that 2009 US Open winner raced from one-set down on both occasions to register his emphatic win.
And though, the 24-year-old ended as a runner-up and missed the opportunity to win his first Masters 1000 title in his career, he did prove he was a player with a potential to win any tournament he participates.
Del Potro also pushed Nadal to the last point of the match in the finals.
Nonetheless, the second-round exit at Miami at the hands of an unseeded player who had never made it to a third-round of a Masters event before has raised uncertainty and doubt about how far Del Potro can push himself.
While the Argentine has himself said that the loss to Kamke was just because he had a bad day and not because he was physically and mentally down, questions related to his ability to maintain form are still popping up.
Nevertheless, the Tandil-born player who has a season record of 16-4 with one title win at the prestigious Rotterdam Open has the entire year ahead of him.
Perhaps, the Argentine can once more hope to touch the form of his magical 2009 US Open campaign when he defeated five-time defending champion Federer to claim his first Major title while defeating Nadal in the semis as well.