After enjoying a stellar return to the tour from a troublesome wrist injury, Juan Martin del Potro have cast doubts about his ability to compete in next month’s Australian Open.
Providing an honest assessment about his current state of form, the 28-year-old candidly admitted that he is currently not at the level which is required to play in a grand slam tournament. The admission has sparked speculation that the Argentine will decide to skip the event. Del Potro hasn’t played at the Australian Open since 2014.
“What I need is to have someone get me physically fit enough to last the whole year,” he said. “There’s a fortnight to the Australian Open and I’m unlikely to make that objective. We’re looking at what the priority is. If tennis waited for me for two years, Australia can wait for me for one more.“
It is also unclear of the world No.38 will be available for Argentina’s first Davis Cup tie of the new season against Italy. The Argentinian team will host Italy in the first weekend of February.
“There’s still some time to the first tie against Italy, but not so much and it’s going to be on clay and that’s a surface I struggle on,” Del Potro said.
Del Potro’s recent comments have left tournament organisers in the dark. He is still set to play at the ASB Classic in New Zealand, which will start on January 9th. Charlotte Bellis, who is the media manager of the event, confirmed that he is yet to withdraw from the competition.
“We last talked to his team yesterday (Tuesday) and there was no indication he wouldn’t be coming to Auckland.” Bellis told sportlife.com.
“As of right now we are treating the AAP story as an unverified report as none of his team has confirmed that story as accurate. We will let you know if we hear differently.”
The former US Open champion has enjoyed a successful 2016 where he won the Stockholm Open followed by playing a pivotal role in Argentina’s Davis Cup triumph over Croatia. Del Potro’s successful end to the season comes just 12 months after he contemplated retirement from the sport due to a series of serious wrist issues.
As uncertainty surrounds his 2017 schedule, Del Potro is set to play in two exhibition matches in his home country on on 27 and 28 December against Spain’s David Ferrer.
