It is hard to believe that almost 13 years have passed since Juan Martin del Potro sent shockwaves throughout the men’s Tour by winning one of the most prestigious titles.
In 2009 at the age of 20 and seeded sixth in the US Open draw, the Argentine known affectionately as the ‘Tower of Tandil’ became only the second man from his country to reach the final after the great Guillermo Vilas. He went on to win the title by defeating Roger Federer in a five-set epic who himself was on an incredible 40-match winning streak in the tournament.
“I have new opportunities in the other Grand Slams to win, because if I did it here, if I beat Nadal, Federer and many good players, maybe I can do it one more time (elsewhere),” he said following the triumph.
Unfortunately for Del Potro the years which followed was a mixture of both jubilation and despair. While he has managed to rise to as high as third in the world back in 2018 and won 22 ATP titles, he will be remembered as being one of the most unluckiest men in the sport. For months and sometimes years he would be sidelined from the Tour due to injury. Incredibly, he has had a total of eight surgeries since 2010 in order to prolong his career.
There was surgery on his right wrist in 2010, then three additional procedures on his left wrist between 2014 and 2015. Four years later it was his knee which proved to be problematic as he went under the knife in June 2019, January 2020, August 2020 and March 2021. Throughout his career, Del Potro has consistently missed at least nine months of tennis on four separate occasions. This equates to exactly three years.
Somehow he always managed to stage a comeback against the odds and to the delight of his fans. However, he knew that one day his body would no longer allow him to do so and there is a strong likelihood that his latest return will be his final farewell.
Taking to the courts of the Argentina Open on Monday evening, Del Potro was greeted by a packed crowd who cheered him on. Among those in attendance was his mother, Patricia, who had previously never watched him play an ATP match in person. Playing competitively for the first time since June 2019, del Potro fell 6-1, 6-3, to compatriot Federico Delbonis after 84 minutes.
“Today I left everything until the last point. My last game was on the court and not in (a press) conference. And that’s what I wanted. I feel like I gave everything, until the last point,” La Nacion newspaper quoted Del Potro as saying afterwards.
The match marked only the second time Del Potro had ever played an ATP tournament in his home country which seems baffling to some. The first was back in 2006 when he was 17 and lost in the first round to Juan Carlos Ferrero in three sets.
“I think tonight (Monday night) exceeded everything I imagined. Do I regret not having played more times in the Buenos Aires tournament? No, because I put together my calendars thinking about Indian Wells and Miami, on the hard court, in the first three or four months of the year and then being good for the rest of the year,” he explains.
“Also, I don’t regret it because if this was my last tournament I was able to live it intensely. Perhaps at another time it would not have lived like this time.”
It can be argued that outside of the sports Big Three, Del Potro has established himself as one of the most popular players within the sport. According to 24Trends, around the same time he was playing against Delbonis the phrase ‘Delpo’ was among the top 10 trending terms worldwide on Twitter with an estimated count of 26,000 references. Even more incredible is that in Argentina he has topped the trending list for eight-consecutive hours.
The surge of interest is undoubtedly due to the return of one of the sport’s well known figures but it is more than that. It is a chance for fans to watch the Argentine play once again before he stops for good. Del Potro has not yet definitively stated that he will retire from tennis. However, as his body continues to suffer, so do his hopes.
“I wish I could sleep without leg pain. It is very difficult to do this sport with the discomfort I have,” he admits.
“I feel that I want to live in peace and I have my whole life ahead of me. Health leads me to make a decision of which I am not convinced. I think I fulfilled all my objectives in tennis, perhaps I was left with the thorn of not having reached number 1.”
Continuing to talk about his current health, Del Potro states that he wants to have a body ‘which does what he wants, not what he can.’ Prior to the start of the Argentina Open he spoke about one example where conducting a long drive to see friends was troublesome due to his knee. Something as trivial as this would frustrate any elite athlete.
So is it the end for Del Potro? Only time will tell. He has received a wild card to play in Brazil next week at the Rio Open but there are already doubts.
“Right now I am not sure about Rio. At the time he did have the illusion of playing both tournaments. It’s special to me, because of the Olympics. I calculate that in these hours we will make a decision,” he outlined.
“What I make clear to you, with or without Rio, is that later I will make a stand and prioritize living life with less pain.”
Del Potro, who turns 34 this September, has given fans a glimmer of hope by saying in a message that he will try his best to fix his knee issue. Although he admits he is unsure of how possible that may be.
Either way, his return to tennis in Buenos Aires was that of a fairytale.
Sometimes tennis isn’t all about winning matches.
