Del Potro hometown erupts with joy following New York win

TANDIL, Argentina (Reuters) - Juan Martin del Potro's U.S. Open final victory has sent shockwaves of delight through his native Tandil, a modest rural city which has become an unlikely production line for Argentine professionals.

At Club Independiente, where Del Potro began playing at the age of six, hundreds of people followed Monday's triumph over Swiss world number one Roger Federer on a large screen television.

Among them was Del Potro's childhood coach, Marcelo Gomez, who has trained five other professional men's players from Tandil.

"Juan Martin has just made history in Argentine tennis," an emotional Gomez told Reuters after the victory.

"At the age of 20, he beats number one ranked Federer to win the U.S. Open. I don't think he understands the magnitude of what he's just accomplished."

Gomez also coached Mariano Zabaleta, Diego Junqueira, Maximo Gonzalez and Juan Monaco, who all hail from the city of 100,000, located 350-km south of Buenos Aires.

Tandil ground to a halt for four hours as a majority of its residents watched their local hero overcome some early jitters before fighting back to beat five-times U.S. Open champion Federer 3-6 7-6 4-6 7-6 6-2 to lift his first major title.

Once Del Potro had completed the victory, celebrations carried on through the night at Club Independiente.

"I saw Del Potro play as a young boy," club president Pedro Gomez said among a raucous crowd celebrating the triumph.

"I'm enormously happy -- to be able to enjoy this victory is amazing."

Del Potro became the second Argentine to win the U.S. men's crown, joining compatriot Guillermo Vilas, who won on clay in 1977 and attended Monday's final in the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

"We have a work method in Tandil," Marcelo Gomez added.

"People here celebrated in the streets as if we had just won the soccer World Cup. For us, for Tandil, it's unbelievable to have a sportsman like Juan Martin."

(Reporting by Miguel Lobianco and Luis Andres Henao in Buenos Aires. Writing by Luis Andres Henao. Editing by John O'Brien)