I look at all these photos and I just think, “poor boy”. Actually, first I think “who the hell are all these people?”, and secondly I think “why the hell can’t I find any video of these shows?”. But then I think “poor boy”.
Tom Perrotta on the morning after the night before:
On Monday, Juan Martin del Potro won the U.S. Open. Tuesday morning, he watched himself do it again and again, as if to prove that it really happened.
“On TV, on the Internet, everywhere,” del Potro told a small group of reporters in midtown Manhattan. “When I saw the ball going out, my sensation—it’s amazing, I can’t explain with words.”
It was easier for del Potro to explain how he felt after a sleepless night on the town, mostly at Avenue, a posh club on Manhattan’s West Side.
“I don’t want to play for a while,” he said. “I need the rest.”
Winning a major title for the first time is a transformative moment in any player’s career. In the 20-year-old del Potro’s case, the victory seemed to have physical effects, too. There he was on Monday, sporting a scruffy beard and a sleeveless shirt as he mowed down Roger Federer with booming forehands. On Tuesday, he looked more like a GQ model, dressed in stylish jeans, a pressed collared shirt, and a sweater. He visited with the Today Show hosts, Regis and Kelly, and Charlie Rose.
Del Potro isn’t attracting all this attention just because he beat Federer, the five-time defending U.S. Open champion who was on a 40-match winning streak in Flushing. It’s how he did it that was most impressive. After a nervous and tentative start that seemed to doom him to a quick defeat, Del Potro gathered himself midway through the second set and began to play with emotion and poise. He charged back from a two-sets-to-one deficit, going for bigger and bigger shots as the match became increasingly tense. When Federer was two points from winning the match, del Potro refused to fold.
“When I started the fifth set I said [to myself], ‘It’s kill or die,’” he remembered. [...]
First though, del Potro has to plan a celebration. Step one: Return to Argentina Tuesday evening. Step two: Gather his family and friends in Tandil, his hometown, and let loose. How loose?
“I don’t know,” del Potro said. “But crazy, for sure.”
Del Potro’s parents and sister do not travel with him to tournaments, but they did watch his victory on television. His father, Daniel, was a semi-professional rugby player and is now a veterinarian, and his mother, Patricia, is a teacher. Del Potro spoke to them after the match.
“I just say, ‘Hello,’ and then we start to cry,” he said. “Was difficult to speak.”
Bless. Anyway, I know I already mentioned he was on the Early Show, which is apparently a thing - there’s an article about his appearance here – but I loved this photo too much not to post it.
I’ve deduced that the Early Show is like GMTV, except with terrifyingly attractive people, which personally speaking is the last thing I want to see in the morning, unless I’ve somehow slept with them. Anyway, JMDP was also on Charlie Rose, which is definitely a thing, I’ve heard of it:
And on this Regis and Kelly show, which is apparently a thing. I thought Regis was with Kathy Lee? Or have the lyrics to Jesus Walks misled me? Or is that a different Regis? I don’t even know who Kathy Lee is, except I assume she’s the same person who Mr. Garrison nearly kills in like the second episode of South Park. I cannot overstate the extent to which I do not know who these people are. I thought I did, but I don’t.
And last but not least …
You know you’re flavour of the minute when J-Mac turns up for no apparent reason. Mark my words.
UPDATED: OK, I admit it, I’m incompetent. But luckily other people aren’t. Here’s the video of JMDP on Regis & Kelly. Thanks, twitter people.
