In another comeback bid, Juan Martin Del Potro has returned to the tennis court after a long stint of recovery and rehab.
The former US Open champion had undergone two surgeries on his right knee – on 22 June 2019 and 27 January 2020 – after he injured himself during the Queen’s Club ATP last summer. Though the pain hasn’t completely subsided yet, he is back on the tennis court.
“I wanted to tell you that these days I started to hit again.” Del Potro, 31, wrote on an Instagram post on Tuesday.
“The knee still bothers me so we have to see how it evolves. Although I have no schedule, once again I am taking all the necessary steps to continue doing what I love. Thank you for the love you always give me.”
One of the biggest hitters on the tour, the 6’6 Argentine’s career has been ravaged by injuries.
Shortly after winning the US Open in 2009, at the age of 20, Del Potro suffered from wrist injuries and underwent surgery on the right wrist in 2010.
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Having scaled back to No 5 in the world in 2013, the Argentine was again hobbled by wrist injuries the year after. He has since undergone procedures on both wrists and two on his right knee and lost out on a lot of playing time in his prime.
Del Potro made another stirring comeback in 2018, when he defeated defending champion Rafael Nadal in the semifinals of US Open to make the summit clash nine years after his first. But the ‘Tower of Tandil’ suffered another knee injury in 2019 during a match against Feliciano Lopez.
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He hasn’t played since and has dropped to 128 in the rankings.
In a recent podcast with ESPN, Del Potro had said, “It is painful to find my way back and I want to try to end my career as I deserve.”
“My parents never came to a big tournament to see me play. When people ask me if I’m going to come back, that’s something that motivates me. I have to play again. I have to go with my mother and father to a tournament and say, ‘Roger (Federer), say hello to my parents, they’re from Tandil’,” Del Potro added.
