Nicolas Almagro has been forced to retire for the second straight grand slam event, and the second tournament in a row.
The Spaniard was in a battle with the twenty-ninth seed Juan Martin del Potro in the second round of the French Open before he succumbed to a knee injury. The match was called with the scores level at 6-3, 3-6 1-1 for del Potro.
Del Potro had started the match the stronger of the two players, winning the first three games before closing out the set. The Argentinian was himself the first to call for the trainer after surrendering a break of serve in the second, and departed for a medical timeout.
Almagro struggled through to win the set, but required a visit from the trainer before the third. Some strapping was applied to Almagro’s left knee and he attempted to continue.
However, shortly afterwards Almagro collapsed to the court surface in tears, insisting that he was unable to continue. Del Potro, who has had his share of injury woes over the years, crossed the court to enquire after Almagro’s well-being. It was obvious however that the match could not be completed, and there was a touching embrace at the net between the two players before a distraught Almagro departed the court.
Almagro was forced to retire three games into his match with compatriot Rafael Nadal in the Rome Masters, and did not play again before Roland Garros. Almagro courted controversy when he also played just four games before retiring against Jeremy Chardy in the first round of this year’s Australian Open.
Del Potro has reached the round that his seeding suggested he should reach. The tall Argentinian could face World No.1 and top seed Andy Murray in the third round provided that Murray defeats Slovakian Martin Klizan. The pair have played many memorable matches including the Gold Medal match at the Rio Olympics, and a five-set thriller in the Davis Cup as del Potro led Argentina to victory, before they defeated Croatia in the final for their first Davis Cup title.
