34 years It is a more than reasonable age to continue playing tennis. Look at names like Stan Wawrinka o Richard Gasquetwho will be 38 and 37 years old this season, respectively, and remain competitive in the elite of the circuit ATP. This maxim does not apply, unfortunately, to those who were ravaged by injuries of tremendous severity. One of those ‘truncated’ careers was that of Juan Martin del Potro, who has taken his mind away from the competition for more than a year. She did it, yes, in a forced way, due to a spiral of injuries that threatened to compromise his day-to-day future. Away from the circuit and with no sign of returning, now the Argentine appears in various commitments while he keeps up to date with everything that happens in this sport.
His latest adventure has taken him to Brazil. There he will be the ambassador and godfather of a competition at the South American level organized by Roland Garrosand tournament between the best juniors in the region which will award an invite to the junior main draw of the second Grand Slam of the year. Some of the great youth jewels from countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Colombia or Chile will beat the copper before the watchful eye of the man from Tandil, who he took advantage of to offer some statements really interesting in the preview of the event. One of those must-see reflections (collected by Site Tennis News) refers to his great thorn, the great yearning for a career that touched glory on numerous occasions but that we never saw 100% unfold due to the damn injuries.
“The only thing I lacked was to be number one in the world. It was always a dream and I always worked to be the best, but I am also super proud of my career. I never managed to be number one because Nadal, Federer or Djokovic were there, and when I look at the ranking or look at the years of my career and see who I was fighting to be number one with, it’s also very nice to know that they were the ones who didn’t let me get there. that dream”affirms a nostalgic Juan Martín emphatically, who extolled the fierce competition in the high spheres of the circuit during his best years as a professional. He is not very wrong: his great ‘second youth’, back in 2018, coincided with the resurrection of the best Djokovic (and the presence of a great Nadal who prevented him, for example, from advancing at Wimbledon); his great explosion between 2008 and 2009, with the regularity and voracious perseverance of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
“SOMETHING SIMILAR TO THE BIG THREE WILL NOT HAPPEN AGAIN”
Because he lived it in his flesh and was one of his great victims (and also one of his great executioners), the Argentine speaks wonders of a Big Three which, he affirms, will find no comparison over the years. “Someday the Big Three is going to end. It will be Carlos Alcaraz, Sinner, Rune or other young guys who lead and set the pace on the circuit. However, I think we all learned a lot from the Big Three and for me, for many years , something similar will not happen again“.
Del Potro: ‘One day the Big 3 will end. For a long time there will not be something similar’https://t.co/2fkWo7q6H4 pic.twitter.com/G1By0N2F6U
— Tennis News website (@tenisnewsbrasil) March 15, 2023
