When Argentine Juan Martin del Potro stunned Roger Federer to win last year's US Open, he went on a tour of American TV chat shows saying that, as happy as he was with the personal glory, he hoped his achievement would spark interest in the game back home in South America.
His nation hailed the victory, with sports daily Ole bringing to mind perhaps the country's greatest ever sportsman by declaring 'Del Potro is Maradona. He is the joy we had been waiting for'.
It was a remarkable effort, defeating the player many say is the greatest the game has known and it put Del Potro alongside the legendary Guillermo Vilas as the second Argentine to win the Open.
While Del Potro has provided an inspiration for his countrymen, on the other side of the court, things are looking a little different.
There are nine Argentine men in the world's top 100, but on the women's side things are not looking so pretty.
As the 36th ranked player in the world, Argentine Gisela Dulko (pictured) is not only South America's number one, she is South America's only one.
While the rain poured down at Victoria Park last night, disrupting the Hong Kong Classic, she took time to reflect on how life on the circuit can look far away from the grand slam glamour.