By Mike McIntyre

"I watch Nadal a lot, he's an idol."

So now we know the secret to Juan Martin's Del Potro's recent surge in the ATP rankings. These were Del Potro's words after his first round win in Washington on Tuesday night against Jesse Levine. Obviously there is more than just watching Nadal play to explain this sudden emergence, but if you were going to pick a player to emulate, Nadal is a pretty good model.

Speaking Tuesday night of his drastic success of late, Del Potro explained that, "I changed a lot my game. One hundred percent. My serve is much better and I'm starting to be more aggressive."

He was certainly aggressive in the first set last night against Israel's Dudi Sela where he won 6-0. From the very first rally of the match you noticed that these two players were not exactly hitting at the same pace. Sela appeared to be simply tapping the ball back compared to the fierce velocity of Del Potro's monster forehand.

On the second point of the match, Del Potro lobbed Sela, forcing the Israeli to hustle to the back of the court and attempt a between the legs shot on the run that failed. Not a good sign for Sela to be trying one of those so early on.

While Del Potro has a wicked forehand, and his two hand back hand is stable enough, there are two aspects of his game that I find interesting. The first is that even while he is 6'6", his serve does not pack the same punch as a John Isner or Marin Cilic. Apparently height isn't everything. Typically in the 118 to 125mph range, what his serve does possess is tremendous accuracy and placement. Often he would handcuff Sela with well positioned serves to the body.

The second thing that impresses me with Del Potro is his movement. For a big guy he covers the court quite well and without looking awkward like others of his stature. Even his ventures into the net look well choreographed.

Things changed in the second set. When Sela got on the scoreboard for the first time in the opening game of that set, the remaining crowd at the William H.G. Fitzgerald tennis center went wild. Sela gave a gesture of appreciation to the crowd and that was enough to get the "Let's Go Dudi" chants started.

Whatever aggressiveness Del Potro had previously spoken of disappeared from his game. He seemed to expect that the second set would transpire the same as the first one without the same level of effort being put forth. A rookie mistake perhaps?

Inspired by the crowd, Sela was able to claw his way back into the match. His body language picked up and he began reaching balls that so easily eluded him in the first set. After making a few comments to another reporter earlier in the match about how Dudi looked like a dud, I was impressed with his hustle and anticipation of Del Potro's intended targets on the court.

Serving at 5-6, 30-40, Del Potro was given a gift by Sela that sat up in the air and begged to be crushed for an overhead winner. Instead, he took a swiping mid-air forehand at the ball and managed to sent it wide, giving Sela the second set 7-5.

Del Potro woke up in the third, and Sela looked to have run out of gas after all of the side to side sprints that he was forced to make. He recovered to win the match 6-0, 5-7, 6-2 and keep his winning streak alive at 16 in a row.

Whether Del Potro's recent rise is something he can maintain for the US Open remains to be seen. He will definitely be seeded at the tournament which should at the very least get him through to the round of sixteen there. 

Regardless of his outcome at the final slam of the year, I think we are seeing the emergence of a soon to be top-ten player in Del Potro. Another talented young gun to mix things up at the top of the rankings.