ATP: Comeback of "Delpo" is approaching - impressions from the training ground
The return of Juan Martin del Potro to the tennis courts of this world is imminent - with a high probability already at the clay court tournament in Buenos Aires.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Jan 13, 2022, 09:48 pm
Juan Martin del Potro is for sure one of the most popular players of the past decade and a half. The "Turm aus Tandil" celebrated its greatest success more than twelve years ago, when it defeated Roger Federer in five hard-fought sets in the 2009 finals of the US Open and won his first and so far only Grand Slam title .
While the wrist was the South American's big Achilles heel for a while, he has had to grapple with severe knee problems over the past two and a half years - the end of his career as a forehand artist was not just a matter of one time. After four operations (June 2019, January 2020, August 2020 and March 2021) on the right knee, things are finally looking really good with a comeback for the Argentine.
It starts in Rio de Janeiro at the latest
And with a high probability already at his home tournament in Buenos Aires. The 250 clay court event in the Argentine capital was scheduled to take place from February 7th to 13th. Casper Ruud, Diego Schwartzman and Dominic Thiem are currently at the head of the preliminary seeding list, but nothing of "Delpo" can be read on it - but the wildcard awards have not yet been officially announced.
In any case, "unofficially" it would be very surprising if one of the popular byes did not go to the now 33-year-old. Del Potro has practically "saint status" in Argentina and that the knee of the two-time Olympic medal winner is holding, are shown by impressions of the course training in his hometown of Tandil, which "Delpo" recently posted on Twitter.
And if, contrary to expectations, it doesn't work out in Buenos Aires, the Argentine’s comeback will start a week later in Rio de Janeiro - the organizer del Potro has already promised a wildcard at the ATP 500 tournament in Brazil.