Juan Martin del Potro: Still Unfit?
This year, an inordinate number of tennis players have been hit with some kind of injury or surgery which has made it impossible for them to compete or excel at tournaments, potentially causing serious debilitation to their careers.
Prime examples include Serena Williams who is recovering from a foot surgery; Rafael “Rafa” Nadal, who suffers from trick knees and Kim Clijsters, who will need surgery to remove moles on her feet. However, one athlete may have lost more than others due
to fitness - Argentine Juan Martin del Potro, last year’s US Open champion, has been forced to drop out of a large number of tournaments, such as the Masters at Indian Wells and Miami, the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, Barcelona and Rome Masters. He also had
to give up his chance to defend his title at the 2010 US Open tournament due to these injuries.
Juan Martin del Potro made a comeback at the 2010 PTT Thailand Open, where he was the fifth seed in the competition. The player was excited to participate again after a break of eight months, putting up a Tweet before the tournament which said, “I am extremely
happy to tell you: I WILL PLAY AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!! Will be in the BANGKOK tournament next Monday. Thanks so much for everything!”
The Argentine opened the match against unseeded Olivier Rochus, one of Belgium’s best tennis players. Del Potro managed to defend himself with sixteen aces, but it proved insufficient and he lost to Rochus in straight sets 7-6 (9-7), 6-4.
After this tournament, the Argentine competed in the Japan Open in the first round this week, against Spaniard Feliciano Lopez. He suffered his second defeat in two matches, and displayed signs of being rusty and out of practice. It took sixth seed Lopez
only two sets and 82 minutes to defeat del Potro, with the final score of 6-3, 6-0. It was a very comfortable victory for Feliciano Lopez, who took advantage of del Potro’s eight month hiatus and the fast court, making him stretch for every shot. Feliciano
Lopez scored 11 aces, saving 11 out of 12 break points to win his third consecutive match against Juan Martin del Potro. The Spaniard, who will now move to round two of the tournament, says, “These courts really suit my style, they are very fast."
Currently ranked at the world number 34 slot on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) rankings, del Potro admitted that he is having some difficulty keeping up with the game on his return. He spoke to the ATP World Tour website and said, “It's difficult
to come back and play against these players, especially Feliciano on such a fast court.” Lopez (World Number 6) himself concurred with this, backing del Potro up by saying, “When you are away for as long as Juan has been, it takes time to get back to your
best level, but I have no doubt that he will be one of the top players again soon.”
However, del Potro himself seems upbeat and positive about his future matches, and is optimistic about his upcoming performances. The player concluded his statement to the ATP website on a cheerful note, saying, “I need time; I need to work on a few things
to get back to my best level. If I work in a good way, I will be in good shape in a month or so.”
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