Juan Martin del Potro was left to bemoan scheduling at the ATP World Tour Finals after falling short of glory yesterday (November 29th).

The US Open champion had advanced to the final with a late-night win over Robin Soderling but was back on court the following afternoon to face Nikolay Davydenko.

Del Potro was often sluggish during an eventual 3-6, 4-6 reverse and revealed that he had not gone to bed until 03:00 GMT after his thrilling success against the Swede.

Asked if the final should have been played in the evening, he said: "Of course, but that's the rules of the game.

"I had the day off before the semis and Nikolay plays Friday to Saturday, so it's different. But he played unbelievable tennis, he beat me in a good way."

Nevertheless, the Argentine can be pleased with his 2009 season after winning his first ever Grand Slam at Flushing Meadows, producing some incredible tennis along the way.

His performances have rightly seen the 'Big Four' of the men's game - Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray - become a 'Big Five' in the eyes of most observers.

Del Potro will now rest up and prepare himself for a tilt at the Australian Open at the start of next season, for which he is rated as the 6/1 third favourite.