It is hard to fault Juan Martin del Potro for his determination and belief in his game considering everything he has been through.
On multiple occasions, the Argentine has contemplated stepping away from the sport permanently due to various injury issues that have sidelined him for months at a time. However, he is somewhat of a comeback king in the world of tennis. Del Potro’s first surgery was back in 2010 on his left wrist, followed by another three operations of his right wrist between 2014 and 2015. After the quartet of surgeries, he returned to the Tour winning a series of ATP titles, as well as silver at the 2016 Olympic Games. Two years after that, he was at a ranking high of third in the world. Del Potro, known by many for his thunderous forehand, was back in full force before disaster struck once again.
At the 2018 Shanghai Masters, he fractured his right patella before injuring it again last than 12 months later on the Grass at Queen’s. Once again Del Potro was sidelined from playing and is still yet to return to competition after undergoing three knee operations. The most recent of which occurred back in March.
“I love the challenge. It could be a tennis challenge or a different challenge in life, and this is the toughest match of my career because I cannot deal with this kind of injury, this kind of pain that I’ve had, but I’m still trying,” Del Potro told ESPN.
“I believe in myself that this is going to be in the past, for sure, and I think it’s also a message to young kids, all players, all people around the world that they never have to give up in following a dream, and that’s what I’m doing.”
This week the 32-year-old has returned to Flushing Meadows where he achieved the biggest win of his career to date. Back in 2009 at the tender age of 20, he produced back-to-back wins over Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer to win the US Open. Becoming one of the youngest men to do so in the history of the tournament.
According to US Open.com, Del Potro’s visit to New York included a hitting session with John McEnroe and being a guest analyst for ESPN’s Spanish language broadcast. Of course, he also fit in some time to watch his peers in action. Something that he has mixed feelings about.
“When I was watching Medvedev’s match, it was a little bit frustrating to me to watch these guys play and [have] me [be on the] outside… to not be the guy who’s playing, fighting for the trophy,” he said. “This is what’s happened to me at the moment, but I’m going to fight to keep moving and hopefully, next year, I can be a protagonist again and playing tennis.”
Only time will tell as to how much of a force the Tower of Tandill came become once again on the men’s Tour. Although there is no question that Del Potro still believes he can beat the best in the world, should his body allow him to do so.
“All the players are playing an aggressive game, with serves and forehands and very short points. From my point of view, a guy who makes a smart game, a smart play, he has the chance to win a tournament,” he said.
“That’s the reason, I think, that Novak (Djokovic) is still playing. He has the experience, he has the game, and he’s very smart on court. The other guys are very strong, but that’s a little bit of a message to me that, if I’m healthy, I can be in that position again.”
Should all go to plan, Del Potro is targeting a comeback at the start of 2022 which will be two-and-a-half years on from when he last played on the Tour. Plans concerning when or where he will return are still to be decided.
“The knee is much better for now. I’m still recovering, but I’m on court, which is a good thing for me. I’m looking forward to being ready in a couple of months. If everything goes well, next season will be fine to start,” he concluded.
