Dubai : Juan Martin Del Potro, one of the brightest young stars of tennis now, will make his debut at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships later this month.

The Argentine stunned everyone in last September when he battled his way through the draw at the US Open and then claimed an upset victory over world number one Roger Federer to lift the trophy at Flushing Meadows. Now, the 21-year-old is set to electrify his many fans on centrecourt at the Dubai Tennis Stadium.

However, his US Open triumph was not the only success that Del Potro has enjoyed in his career. In 2008 he finished the season as the youngest player in the top 10 after reaching five finals and winning four titles, and he helped Argentina to the Davis Cup final against Spain.

History made

He won titles in Auckland and Washington, before reaching the final of the Barclays ATP World Finals in London where he fell to Nikolay Davydenko. It was in New York City that he made history, however, becoming the first player to beat Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in a Grand Slam tournament and becoming the first Argentine to capture the US Open since Guillermo Vilas in 1977.

Del Potro has begun 2010 also in the same vein that suggests he will be a strong challenger for the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships title, despite having to face a field that includes Australian Open champion Roger Federer and runner-up Andy Murray, 2008 Dubai winner Andy Roddick, Dubai defending champion Novak Djokovic and Barclays ATP World Tour Finals winner Nikolay Davydenko.

As a warm-up for that challenge, in Melbourne he demonstrated his staying power by outlasting James Blake in the second round of the Australian Open, winning 10-8 in the fifth set. That match stretched to 62 games, the most played in the tournament.

Despite everything else he has achieved, it was the US Open that made Del Potro's name, and he is hoping that a similar big-city environment that he says exists in both New York City and Dubai will provide him with the same motivation and luck.

"I know it's a great tournament, great city," he said of Dubai in a press statement yesterday. "It has tall buildings like Manhattan, so just maybe the setting will mean I can play similar tennis in Dubai as I did in New York," he added.