Juan Martin del Potro suffers greatly from the aftermath of a career marked by injuries. But he still wants to work on the tennis court one last time.
from SID
last edited: December 1, 2024, 11:36 a.m
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For Juan Martin del Potro, the day begins with a sad ritual. “Every morning when I get up I have to take six to eight tablets,” reports the former top tennis star with a sad look. Before what will probably be his last show match, which del Potro will play against Novak Djokovic on Sunday, the Argentine revealed his suffering in a highly emotional internet video.
Painkillers, anti-inflammatory drugs, but also anti-anxiety pills – del Potro can’t live without them these days. The battered body still strikes back brutally almost three years after the official end of the 2009 US Open winner’s career. “I just want to live my life without pain,” says the 36-year-old: “It’s very difficult to maintain a facade 24 hours a day.”
Del Potro twice in the final of the US Open
Del Potro dragged himself to his last professional match in February 2022, but physically things had already gone downhill long before that. “Since I was 31, I haven’t been able to run properly anymore. I can no longer climb stairs or kick a ball,” he explains today. After a total of eight operations, del Potro’s knee is in ruins – he never recovered from the two kneecap fractures in 2018 and 2019.
At his peak, the almost two-meter-tall giant was one of the few who could compete with the “Big Three” of men’s tennis. For example, he beat Roger Federer in five sets in the New York final – in his second Grand Slam final in 2018, shortly before things went steeply downhill, he had no chance against Djokovic at the same point.
Against Djokovic again
But now he wants to know it again against the Serbian Grand Slam record winner. Despite all the pain. The medical sense of this undertaking is questionable, but del Potro is determined to say goodbye again. Saying goodbye to “his” fans in Buenos Aires.
“Delpo,” as he is affectionately known there, hopes to have “a little rest” in his knee for “at least two or three hours” – “to enjoy my last time on a tennis court.”
