Juan Martin del Potro remains confident
Only five tournaments could contest Juan Martin del Potro 2019. The Argentinean still believes in a strong comeback in the coming year.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Oct 17, 2019, 04:05 pm
Actually, Juan Martin del Potro should have made his comeback on the ATP tour at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna next week, but this appointment came too soon. On the advice of his doctors, the US Open champion of 2009 had decided not to re-enter the ATP circus until next January. Of course that means that del Potro will miss the Davis Cup final tournament in Madrid. Bad news for the Argentines, who were wildcarded by the World Association. Good news for the German team playing with the Argentine selection in a group.
Around the same time, a show fight with Roger Federer is planned in Buenos Aires, no comparison to a team competition with corresponding expectations of the fans and teammates.
Del Potro, who had been in the finals of the US Open last year, was only able to contest five tournaments this season, the last in Queen's Club in London. There, the 31-year-old defeated in round one still Denis Shapovalov, could no longer compete against the eventual winner Feliciano Lopez. Because he had broken his kneecap again.
Del Potro demanded Djokovic in Rome
However, if a player on the ATP tour knows how to get back to the front of the game after nerve-wracking injury breaks, then Juan Martin del Potro. And so the Argentine expressed optimism in an interview with ESPN a few days ago. "I never expected to return to the top ten after my problems. It will not be easy to repeat a year like 2018, "says Del Potro. "But when I'm in good shape and healthy, you never know."
Despite his long break, del Potro is still ranked 121st in the ATP World Rankings. "I'm getting older, but I still feel that I can play good tennis." What Juan Martin del Potro proved this year especially in the quarter-finals of the ATP Masters 1000 Tournament in Rome, when he was Novak Djokovic narrowly defeated after a thriller. A few weeks later, the 2019 season was history for the man from Tandil.