Plenty has been written about Rafael Nadal's largely triumphant return to tennis and what impact it will have on the upper echelons of the men's game, but his recent victory at Indian Wells could also be a sign of things to come for his opponent Juan Martin Del Potro.
Big return
His impact on return has not been as seemless as Nadal's, who already looks capable of winning a grand slam, but his injury was more serious and lay-off more substantial so we can forgive him if he takes longer to find that consistency.
But consistency is there in his game. He showed that at the start of his career when he made ATP Tour history by winning his first four career titles all in successive tournaments - and his 23-match winning streak as a teenager in 2008 is second only to Nadal's in the record books.
2012 also saw more improvement as he began to find his feet more in the slams - Del Potro reached the fourth round of Wimbledon and the quarter-finals of the other three - losing twice to Federer and once to Djokovic.
In between the slams Del Potro also picked up a bronze medal at the London 2012 Olympics, after losing a mammoth semi-final against Federer which clocked in at an amazing four hours and 26 minutes for just three sets - Federer winning out 19-17 in the third.
He responded though by grabbing a first win over Djokovic to scoop the bronze, and with that hurdle overcome he now has no fear of tackling the big boys.
Just last week at Indian Wells he disposed of Murray in the quarters and ended Djokovic's 22-game winning streak in the semis before just coming up short against a resurgent Nadal.
The Spaniard's knees saw him pull out of the following Miami Masters, and those valuable joints will need constant monitoring to keep him on the court in the big ones - so maybe all will not be rosy in the Nadal camp going forward.
Despite being past 30, Federer could still have a grand slam or two left in him, but he too will probably monitor his schedule accordingly to ensure he is fully fit for the big four events.
There is a gap then for Del Potro to force his way into the big time. Already back up to world No 7, he could be knocking on the door of the top four in no time, and if he can continue with the form he showed last week he could well come storming through over that threshold.
There are plenty of experts who have already christened this the most exciting period in men's tennis, with four superstars all battling it out at their best. If Del Potro can stay fit and make that five, then that really would answer any doubts about whether this is the golden age of tennis.
