Del Potro says goodbye to Buenos Aires in his most emotional match

The Argentine tennis player Juan Martín Del Potro, this Tuesday at the ATP of Argentina, in Buenos Aires. JUAN MABROMATA (AFP)

At a disadvantage of 1-6 and 3-5, the Argentine Juan Martín del Potro had to serve to win the game and try to avoid defeat in his debut at the Argentina Open, a tournament in the ATP 250 category. On the other side of the net His compatriot and friend Federico Delbonis expected, but the tennis player, winner of the US Open in 2009 and champion of the Davis Cup in 2016, was broken by emotion.

Aware of the historical context, the chair umpire should have allowed what the circuit regulations prohibit: a tennis player taking more than 25 seconds to resume play.

Del Potro spent more than two minutes crying, covering his face with a towel to try to contain his tears because of what he already sensed: that he would play the last game in front of his audience.

More than 5,000 people gave him a standing ovation from the packed stands of the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club, in the Argentine capital.

Delbonis quickly settled the match and won 6-1 and 6-3 against a physically diminished rival, who had not played since June 2019, a period in which he had four operations on his right knee.

Del Potro's talent and punching power always battled against a frail physique despite his 1.93 meter height: he also underwent four other surgeries on his wrists, making a total of eight surgeries in his career.

Delpo, also called “La Torre de Tandil”, is barely 33 years old, but from now on he must prioritize a life without pain.

The demands of high performance are not free.

After an exciting game, not technically but emotionally, and during which supporters shouted "life goes on, Juan", or "be happy, Juan", Del Potro said goodbye -at least- to the Argentine public.

“There came a time that he never wanted to come.

My health leads me to make an unconvinced decision, but I made too much effort to overcome it, to perform another miracle, like with the doll.

I was trying to explain to my surroundings that I can lose.

That I don't have the strength that everyone thinks I have.

I gave it my all until the last point”, said who also won two Olympic medals, bronze in London 2012 and silver in Rio de Janeiro 2016.

“I wish to sleep without leg pain after two years.

And that's what I'm going to try starting tomorrow.

It is very difficult to continue with the inconvenience.

I have life ahead of me and I want to live it in peace.

I have to improve my leg because it's hard for me to live,” said del Potro, whose mother, present at the stadium, saw him play for the first time in his brilliant career, which included 22 titles, 439 wins and 173 losses.

However, Del Potro -currently 753 in the ranking- left an open door for one last performance, next week at the ATP 500 tournament in Rio de Janeiro, with whom he has signed a contract to appear.

“Right now I'm not sure about Rio.

Last week I said that I wanted to play both tournaments, Buenos Aires and Rio, because I know that I will live a night like tonight, but tomorrow or the day after (Wednesday and Thursday) we will talk about it with the doctors and make the decision”, said Del Potro, although he made it clear that his days in tennis, at most, will end next week.

“What I do make clear to them is that, with or without Rio, later I am going to make a break and I am going to prioritize life without pain.

There are cases in tennis that close the blind and then, miraculously, come back.

I will always leave that window open.

Yes (this Tuesday) was the last time, I'm happy, but who wouldn't want to live nights like this again?

Today is a point and from now on I want to improve my leg”, said Del Potro, who in the next few hours will define if he will travel to Brazil to participate from next Monday.

According to a historic night, old glories of national tennis, such as Gabriela Sabatini and Guillermo Coria, approached the stands of the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club.

Since his brilliant appearance in 2008, when he was champion in four consecutive tournaments as a debutant, Del Potro has earned a place in the Argentine pantheon of his discipline along with Guillermo Vilas, José Luis Clerc, Gastón Gaudio and David Nalbandian, among other heroes. .

Del Potro's differential was his status as a figure in the only Davis Cup that Argentina won, in Croatia in 2016.

In his last image in a stadium in Buenos Aires, the executioner of Roger Federer in the final of the 2009 United States Open fulfilled even the symbolism of retirement: as soon as he lost to Delbonis, Del Potro hung his headband from the net of the Buenos Aires Lawn.

“It came naturally to me.

It will be marked that I left my mark on the field, in all these years.

It will be a nice memory to see that photo, ”del Potro closed, the damaged giant, while a large part of the public had been infected by his tears.

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