Tennis star Juan Martin del Potro named Argentina's Sportsman of the Year, beating Lionel Messi Messi missed out on a gong from his countrymen. THE La Liga title, goals in 19 consecutive games and a short-listing as one of the top three players in the world weren't enough to earn Lionel Messi a gong as Argentina's top sportsman of 2013. That honour went to Juan Martin del Potro, who didn't even make it to the final of a grand slam. The rising tennis star claimed Argentina's Sportsman of the Year award at the Sporto Argentino Festival. And fair play to the big-hitting right hander who, at 198cm tall, towers over the pint-sized Messi. Del Potro, seen here celebrating a win over Rafael Nadal, is Argentina's Sportsman of the Year. Del Potro has had a solid year matching it the best, taking four titles in a year highlighted by his epic, five-set semi-final duel with Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon. "I am very happy to have received the Gold Prize of Clarin," del Potro, who is a self-confessed massive football fan, 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. But have the judges made the right call? Let's run through their 2013 stats, and you decide. Messi won the Golden Boot for Europe's top goal scorer in season 2012-13 Source: AFP Messi - 37 goals for Barcelona across La Liga and Champions League in 2013. - Topped La Liga in 2012-13 with 46 goals. - Scored in 19 consecutive games, became first La Liga player to score against every other team in successive matches. - Moved to 2nd on the list of Argentina's top goal scorers with 37. Del Potro None that we're aware of. Messi - 41.07% win rate with Barcelona (23 wins out of 56 matches) Del Potro - 76.12% win rate (51 wins out of 67 matches) Del Potro - 4 wins; Basel, Tokyo, Washington, Rotterdam - 2 finals; Shanghai, Indian Wells - 3 semi-finals; Dubai, Wimbledon, Cincinnati Messi - 1 win; La Liga with Barcelona - 1 semi-final; Champions League with Barcelona - qualified for World Cup finals with Argentina Messi Ranked top-three of all footballers in the world, based on Ballon d'Or short-listing. Del Potro Ranked number five in the world.