By Chris Oddo | Thursday, September 1, 2016

Juan Martin del Potro may not be fully armed at this point of his comeback, but he is ever so dangerous. The hard-hitting forehand worked his way past No. 19 Steve Johnson on Thursday night, 7-6(5), 6-3, 6-2, to book his spot in the third round.

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The man affectionately dubbed the “Tower of Tandil” struck 15 aces and 33 winners against just 23 unforced errors to end Johnson’s tournament in two hours an eight minutes.

The key to Del Potro’s win?

“I think I served much better than my first-round match,” The world No. 141 told reporters. “I played focused on the important moments of the game. I played great at the tiebreak. At the end I saw him physically little tired, so I took all my chances to close the match in three sets.”

He added: “I did much better than my first round.”

Del Potro, who won the Silver medal at the Olympic Games and knocked off world No. 1 Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in the process, came to New York as a wild card because his current ranking would not allow him entry to the main draw. There were some who felt that the USTA should have used their wild cards on a core of up-and-coming American players but the tournament chose to reward its 2009 champion instead.

Ironically it was Johnson who garnered the most press for his comments about Del Potro’s wild card. “What if he does get a wild card and he plays me in the first round,” Johnson asked, before the decision was made. As it turns out they met in the second round, but Johnson would have preferred it not be at all.

The American, in the midst of a breakout season, had his chances in the first set but he failed to challenge a Del Potro serve that replays showed to be out at 5-5 in the first set tiebreaker and proceeded to drop the next point and the opening set. He had his moments in the final two sets but it was the more potent Argentine who held sway over most of the terms of play.

“I did a good job with my serves during all game,” Del Potro said. “I had a few breakpoints at the first set of the match, and I couldn't take it. Then in the second one, I did very, very often… I think when you see your opponent little tired, you must take all the chances. That's what I did today.”

Del Potro’s victory means he’ll face David Ferrer in the third round. The Spaniard battled past Fabio Fognini in a tough five-setter that finished near 1 A.M.

Ferrer holds the 6-3 lifetime edge over Del Potro but they have not met since 2013.