Injury may have put paid to the Argentinian’s hopes of coming back again – if it has he will leave a wonderful legacyIn the few fleeting days this February before Juan Martín del Potro was due to make his return to professional tennis on home soil at a small ATP 250 event in Buenos Aires the reality of what his first appearance in two and half years actually signified became clear.For much of the past 16 years Del Potro’s career has been dictated by each new bitter slice of luck he has had to overcome, with numerous career-threatening injuries and moments when he seriously contemplated retirement. But somehow, through the strength of his character and talent, he would always work...
US Open winner has admitted to depression and thoughts of retirement while overcoming wrist and knee injuriesLast June Juan Martín del Potro announced he would be undergoing surgery on his fractured right knee. The video of his announcement is brutal. Even beyond the revelation he was unsure if he had already played the final match of his career, it is the sight of welling tears as he fiddled with his fingers that is difficult to watch. Del Potro already seemed shattered then, but after six months of rehabilitation, consulting doctors and changing his diet, even everyday activities like walking up stairs were still painful. In January, he revealed his second surgery with a simple text statement. It seemed to be...
Argentina’s No24 seed dug deep to overcome Dominic Thiem, and hopes to ride the crowd’s love once again in his quarter-final against the SwissJuan Martín del Potro, who has lifted the 2017 US Open out of the mire with one heroic performance, is now expected to do it all again when he meets Roger Federer in the quarter-finals on Wednesday, and that is asking a lot of the ailing Argentinian with the big game and even bigger heart.If Del Potro, still struggling physically, somehow rises to the occasion a second time in three days, and if he repeats his win over the No3 seed that delivered him his only slam title here in 2009, he will have to ride the...