Del Potro off to Sydney
Former US Open champion happy to return to NSW event
Last Updated: December 9, 2011 9:45am
Del Potro: Heading for Sydney
Juan Martin Del Potro will warm up for the Australian Open by playing in Sydney's Apia International.
The 2009 US Open champion is getting back to his best after a wrist injury saw him miss virtually the entire 2010 season.
The Sydney tournament provided him with a much-needed wildcard at the start of 2011 and he is happy to return to New South Wales to repay the faith.
Del Potro, who was beaten twice as Argentina lost last weekend's Davis Cup final to Spain, said: "Sydney is a great city and I like the tournament very much.
"In Sydney they gave me one of the first wildcards after my injury and I appreciate this very much from then.
Tradition
"The people at the tournament and also in Sydney were very nice to me and my team and I remember this.
"I hope I can do very well in January because the tournament has a great history and tradition and a lot of players from Argentina have played in it and done very well."
Home star Lleyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis are other confirmed entries in the field for the tournament which gets under way on January 9 - a week before the start of the Australian Open.
The women's tournament, which starts the day before, has attracted the world's top two in Caroline Wozniacki and Petra Kvitova.
