Del Potro began his 2011 season at the Medibank International as a wildcard entry. In the second round, del Potro was defeated by Florian Mayer of Germany in straight sets, despite winning against sixth seed Feliciano López in three sets in the first round. His next tournament would be the first Grand Slam of the year at the 2011 Australian Open, where del Potro was defeated by 21st seed Marcos Baghdatis in the second round. As a result, del Potro slipped further down the rankings to No. 485.