Juan Martín Del Potro was not prepared to walk away from professional tennis. Quite the opposite, rather: his career was unexpectedly interrupted when he was at the top, perhaps at his best historical level, and with clear aspirations to fight for the top of the ATP ranking.
That fateful fracture of the kneecap that he suffered in October 2018, in the Shanghai tournament, when he was within reach of the summit, completely cut his hopes short. He never recovered; his pains even afflict him in everyday life.
His last official match was on February 8, 2022, on his night of gratitude at the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club: an anecdotal defeat against his friend Federico Delbonis. That reappearance at the ATP in Buenos Aires was the first since June 19, 2019, when he suffered a knee injury after a fall on the Queen’s grass, moments before beating Canadian Denis Shapovalov.
From another perspective, years after his peak as a tennis player, Del Potro became even more reflective than before. This week he visited the facilities of the Caja Mágica, the labyrinthine venue where the Madrid Masters 1000 is played, in one of the appearances that he began to make in the middle of the tournaments, something that long ago caused him some pain. He has now found the pleasure of receiving the affection of fans and signing autographs when he walks through the bowels of some tournaments – he was also in Miami this year.
No wonder: Del Potro is a legend. US Open champion in 2009 after winning an epic final against Roger Federer, then world number one and champion in the five previous editions, the Tandil native also marked history with two Olympic medals, the long-awaited Davis Cup for Argentina and a total of 22 ATP titles in the best era of the Big 3, made up of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Federer himself.
“Having won a Grand Slam in the best era of the Big 3 has a special value. Now we talk about the Big 3, but among us in the inner circle we always talked about the fantastic four, because Andy Murray was always the closest to the best of the whole story. Any victory against them was of impressive value; a Grand Slam may sound small but it is not. I always fought against them and that is enough,” reflected the last different tennis player born in Argentina.
Del Potro sat at the same table as the titans even after having undergone no less than eight times under the knife, first for his wrists and the last four, between June 2019 and March 2021, for the severe patella fracture. After his last game in Buenos Aires, in search of solutions for his daily life, he also visited Switzerland to undergo treatment and even underwent surgery this year in Barcelona.
“I’m looking for quality of life to be well, play soccer, join paddle tennis, which is very fashionable today, but I still can’t do it. Not to mention that I can’t think about tennis anymore. But I’m in a constant struggle to find doctors , seek treatments. I have been making efforts for ten years. I had surgery on my knee six or seven times and I always said that it was the last one. When I failed, another effort came. It is inevitable for us. winning. It is the challenge that God gave me in my life,” he revealed.
His sudden retirement was a shock. It hurt him and it still hurts him. Because it was not my own determination: “My retirement was a decision of my body; it was a forced exit from tennis. It was not something prepared. Now I come to tennis tournaments and I feel good; before it was difficult for me. In Miami I had an event and then I stayed to see Carlitos (Alcaraz) and I enjoyed it. I’m not sure about being a coach; I really enjoy being at home, not having a routine and not even having trips. I like being with the young people much more and being able to transmit the things. things I learned and the experiences with the little ones. I like that, although at some point I can change.
Will there be The Last Dance? The former number three in the world is thinking about a farewell match, although it is not yet feasible due to his physical condition: “There are rumors; I would like to play a farewell match, but it has to be in good conditions. The truth is that the last match in “Buenos Aires cost me a lot. That’s why I said maybe it was the last of my career. It was very strong emotionally but it was difficult for me to move.”
Months ago, at an event in the presence of Página/12, the 35-year-old Argentine had clarified that his time in tennis had not been decided. “I don’t have my time in tennis one hundred percent closed, with a lock and key. At some times of the day I feel like an active tennis player. I don’t watch videos like a retired tennis player. On my social networks he says ‘tennis player’. And I want to keep it. The day after is very difficult and, in my case, I prepare myself now. Life put this in my way and I couldn’t go through a process like Nadal’s (NdR: he will retire this year), for example, who announced that next season will be his last season. I was number three in the world, I fell, broke my knee and I still talk to doctors to see how I can heal. “I feel like an active athlete.”
And he had gone deeper, in existential terms: “I had to take out weapons of life, not sports, and perhaps they are the least trained I have. This challenge is different from the previous ones. Today I don’t have a super happy life, because I watch the tournaments and I want play, but I have to listen to my physique and accept that my body makes me look at another path in life.
[email protected]
2024-04-28 23:08:15
#Dance #Del #Potro #spoke #farewell #match #retirement #decision #body #reflected #world #number
