BUENOS AIRES, Dec 14: Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi may have been crowned world footballer of the year four times, but in his native Argentina it’s tennis giant Juan Martin del Potro who is top dog.

World number five Del Potro, the 2009 US Open champion, edged out Messi to claim Argentina’s Sportsman of the Year award at the Sporto Argentino Festival.

“I am very happy to have received the Gold Prize of Clarin,” Del Potro wrote on his Facebook page. “It was a great year, much better than I expected. I was there, fighting in the first place. The main thing is I feel very close to the top of the world again. I’m already looking at next season.”

Del Potro won four titles in 2013 and was runner-up at the Indian Wells and Shanghai Masters.

He also made the semi-finals at Wimbledon, losing a five-set epic to Novak Djokovic in the longest men’s last-four clash in the history of the tournament.—AFP