KEY POINTS:
Two years ago, an 18-year-old Juan Martin Del Potro arrived at the Heineken Open for the first time with the all-too-familiar tag of 'next big thing'.
Sadly, he was bundled out in the first round in straight sets to fellow Argentinian Augustin Calleri before most people even got a glimpse of his potential.
Yesterday, however, he proved why everyone was so excited about the lanky and laconic South American. To be fair, he's been proving it for the past seven months.
Since last year's Wimbledon, he has won five tour titles, including four in a row, and amassed the second-longest winning streak in 2008 with 23 wins.
He has an impressive all-round game, with seemingly few chinks and he was too good yesterday for the 36th-ranked Sam Querrey, winning the final 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 24 minutes.
It was a match of similar styles, which was probably unsurprising considering both stand 1.98m tall.
Both have huge serves and booming forehands, but Del Potro has the added weapons of a good volley, a more consistent backhand, smooth court coverage and an impenetrable temperament.
Even when he had thought he had won the first set, only for a line judge to change her call, he quietly went back to the service box and fired down a second-serve ace. He also produced a running, backhand, top-spin lob, one of the shots of the tournament. Try doing that to someone of 1.98m.
Del Potro was one of the biggest movers in the rankings last year, climbing from 81 in April to a career high eight by November. He went into the Heineken Open as top seed through his ranking of nine in the world.
He appears to have the game to remain in the top 10 for some time and it would not be a surprise if the big four of the men's game became the famous five. At least they would have cooler names than Julian, Dick, Anne, George and Timmy.
"I want to stay in the top 10, or top 5," Del Potro said bashfully in his broken English. "I want to improve my game, my serve and my volley.
"I won all my volleys [yesterday] and that was good for my tennis and good for my future. The best players in the world have everything. I want to be better."
Yesterday's win was a good start.
He broke Querrey in the opening game of the match and, although he was broken when leading 3-2, broke Querrey again at 4-4 to take control of the set.
Del Potro faced three break points when serving at 1-2 in the second set but reeled off a swathe of big first serves more than 200km/h to get him out of trouble.
It was the story of the second set. Whenever he was threatened, Del Potro's serve just got better and better and he served at an impressive 81 per cent in the second set and 69 per cent overall. Querrey got his first serve in just 54 per cent of the time throughout the match.
"Ideally I like to be 70 per cent or higher," Querrey lamented. "The first serve percentage was pretty bad today. You can't play average and beat a guy who is top 10 [in the world].
"He converted a lot of break points. And his first serve in the second set, I felt like he made every first serve. For me that was the key."
Del Potro agreed and he will head to Melbourne this morning full of confidence that he can replicate his success of 2008.
"It's good to start the season by winning the tournament," Del Potro said. "I am very happy to win here in Auckland and it's good for the next week [at the Australian Open]. I will be in good shape for Melbourne."
Del Potro has an adequate record in grand slams, his best being the quarter-finals at last year's US Open.
But that will surely improve over the coming years, perhaps starting this week, and there will be few players on tour who look forward to running into him on the court.
He's not the next big thing yet, but he's not far away.
