Number Juan! Del Potro's first Masters 1000 trophy

Juan Martin Del Potro was the man to finally put an end to Roger Federer's 17 match winning streak.

The Argentine's first ever Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells was in the end settled by two tie breaks after his first set, 6-4 win.

Here at Local Tennis Leagues we pride ourselves on creating close matches, so to see such an evenly contested final between the two tennis heavyweights was enough to inspire us even further!

And with the title being Del Potro's first Masters at the age of 29, it reminds us that in tennis, a never say die attitude really can be the difference. 

What can we learn from the match as a local leaguer?

 1. Be confident

Del Potro's fierce two handed backhands on return of serve meant Federer was under constant pressure. We might not all be able to hit 80mph returns, but being confident and going for your shots, using the tools you have at your disposal are ways to immediately put pressure on your opponent.

2. Make your opponent do the running

Del Potro's 6 foot 6 frame might be enough to get him from tramline to tramline in two strides, but being so tall has always taken its toll on the world number 6's movement. Del Potro worked hard to stay in control of the points, making Federer do more running than he had seen throughout most of the tournament, giving Del Potro more energy at the latter stages of the match.

3. Never give up

Del Potro has come back from 3 operations on his wrist, and in the final, 4 match points down to win the Indian Wells title. A less stuborn opponent might have given in to Federer's dominance, but Juan kept going until the very end, striding to a 7-2 final tie break win that looked an unlikely end result.

So a big well done to Juan, and we hope you can take inspiration from his comeback for your local league matches!