Juan Martin del Potro hopes to meet new Pope Francis in Rome

Juan Martin del Potro will play Andy Murray in the quarterfinals on Friday. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- Juan Martin del Potro

Courtney Nguyen | Mar 14, 2013

Juan Martin del Potro hopes to meet new Pope Francis in Rome /

Juan Martin del Potro will play Andy Murray in the quarterfinals on Friday. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- Juan Martin del Potro hopes to meet Pope Francis, a fellow Argentine, when he plays the Italian Open in Rome in May. The former archbishop of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, was the first non-European elected to lead the Catholic church.

"I'm very Catholic, so I like this decision," Del Potro said after his 6-1, 6-2 fourth-round win over Tommy Haas at the BNP Paribas Open. "For me and for our country and for Argentinian people, it's so big. Was so impressive for us when they mentioned the new pope and also his name. I think he deserve to be there, so it's very nice for us.

Watch Del Potro, Djokovic exchange tweeners on same point

"We are so proud of him. He's the first Pope from South America, I think. He's so big for our own country, also. I wish all the best to him. I think he's gonna do his work perfect. I wish the best for him."

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Published Mar 14, 2013

COURTNEY NGUYEN

Contributor, SI.com Nguyen is a freelance writer for SI.com, providing full coverage of professional tennis both on and off the court. Her content has become a must-read for fans and insiders to stay up-to-date with a sport that rarely rests. She has appeared on radio and TV talk shows all over the world and is one of the co-hosts of No Challenges Remaining, a weekly podcast available on iTunes. Nguyen graduated from the University of California, Irvine in 1999 and received a law degree from the University of California, Davis in 2002. She lives in the Bay Area.