"Athlete Who Crossed Borders": A summary of Del Potro's shaky career

22 degrees, but also 8 surgeries.

The 33-year-old Argentine had the potential to face Federer, Nadal and Djokovic at the top of the tennis industry, but the injuries forced him to retire.

Farewell to the man who "fell 1000 times, and rose in each of them"

Walla!

sport

09/02/2022

Wednesday, February 09, 2022, 12:30 p.m.

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Over 1,000 days have passed since the last time Juan Martin del Potro took to the field, and tonight (Tuesday-Wednesday) he did so in front of a home crowd at the Argentine Open, thrilling the entire sports world as he wept bitterly before the final serve of the game.

At 33 and after three years out of tennis he has yet to definitively state that this is his last game, but it is already clear to everyone that one of the most exciting players in the current generation is already summing up his career, and one can only wonder how far he would have come had it not been for injuries.

More on Walla!

The last game of his career?

Del Potro lost in Argentina and burst into tears

To the full article

Del Potro has achieved 22 titles during his career, which has placed him at the top of tennis in Argentina at all times, but the "Tendil Tower", as it was called due to its 198 centimeters, has also entered the operating rooms no less than eight times since 2010 due to repeated injuries to his wrists and right knee. The last was in 2019.

"I've been sleeping with pain for two and a half years now," he said in tears on Tuesday.

In 2009, a week before he turned 20, Del Potro subdued Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, who was ranked first in the world at the time and stood on a streak of five wins in the same competition, on his way to winning only the Grand Slam title. , But remains the last to this day - much because of health issues.

During his career he fell from the top of world tennis to 1041st place because of the many injuries, but repeatedly returned to the top 10 and thus twice won the "Comeback of the Year at ATP" award, which is given by the tennis players in the round.

Stunned Federer at the age of 20. Del Potro after winning the US (Photo: Reuters)

London 2012 Olympic bronze medal and silver in Rio 2016 were two more highlights of his career, when in both tournaments a man "leaked" a man to Novak Djokovic and in Brazil also ousted Nadal in the semifinals.

Perhaps the biggest moment came as well in 2016, when the Argentine Tamir led his team to its first ever win in the Davis Cup, after a tremendous rise in the final against Croatia.

During his career he also appeared in the semi-finals of the Roland Garros (2009 and 2018), Wimbledon (2013) and once again in the United States (2017), and in 2018 there was a sense that Del Potro was reborn: he reached at least the quarterfinals in three of the four Grand Slams, climbed to the rankings The career-high (3 in the world) and Indian Wells saved three championship points before defeating Federer, who until then had held a 0:17 record that year, en route to winning his first Masters 1000 career title, his 22nd and final.

Excited Argentina time after time.

Del Potro in the Davis Cup final in 2016 (Photo: Reuters)

A year later came the tragic knee injury, the one that caused him to have surgery four more times and has not been able to play for two and a half years.

Now, the man who has been crowned Argentina's Athlete of the Year twice has had to give up a career that could have been far more glorious, for "trying to live like a 33 - year - old man without pain".

The size of the potential for Del Potro to win more titles and perhaps even challenge the "Big Three" will be evidenced by the following statistic: Of the players who have never been at the top of the world rankings, Del Potro is the player who has won the world No. 1 most times - 10 overall.

Only two tennis players besides him, Andy Murray and Joe Wilfried Tsonga, managed to beat Djokovic, Nadal and Federer when they were in first place in the world rankings.

"Juan Martin del Potro leaves behind a legacy full of achievements, but also lessons: he has fallen a thousand times, and risen again in each one," praised the Argentine in his homeland.

"He has always been motivated to represent Argentina. He has removed the curse of the Davis Cup. His greatness is far beyond his two meters. Juan Martin puts the country in the highest places, he is an athlete who has crossed borders."

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