965 days Juan Martin del Potro did not play tennis.
No game, no tournament.
For almost 1,000 days he suffered and suffered, trying to rehabilitate his body and mind only to return to doing the thing he loves most in the world.
For two and a half years he met with doctors, went into the treatment room, tried to figure out how to wake up from the nightmare and go back to dreaming big.
And here, this morning (Tuesday-Wednesday), Leaked was finally back.
He appeared in the Buenos Aires tournament, where he last visited in early 2006, but the comeback was not the goal of the 33-year-old Argentine's visit.
vice versa.
The rusty Delpho lost 6: 1, 6: 3 to his compatriot and good friend Federico Delbonis, came back to say goodbye in his own way.
As he said: "I wanted the end to be on the pitch, and not at a press conference."
Del Potro hugs at the end of the game with his friend Federico Delbonis, Photo: Getty Images
And so, in front of noisy stands reminiscent of Boca Juniors' Bombonera, and with about 80 of his closest friends from his hometown roaring a tandem, Del Potro cried throughout the last game.
When his mother Patricia, who never came to watch him in an official tournament, took a place in the front row, the beloved Argentine tennis player hung his headband on the net, concluding: "If this is my last time - I retire happy."
An unforgettable night in Buenos Aires comes to a close 🌙
The moment @FedeDelbonis defeated Del Potro 👇 # ArgentinaOpen pic.twitter.com/vWaOU3zUAh
- Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 9, 2022
Die to stay alive
Del Potro's happiness is not a trivial thing.
According to many, this is the biggest miss of the current generation in world tennis, a talent bomb that was trampled under injuries.
Anyone who watched him win the 2009 U.S. Open, with victories over Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in the semifinals and finals, was sure the 20-year-old, who stretched to a height of about two meters and shelled winners with an imaginary hand punch, would be a part From the arrowhead of the men's round for years to come.
But instead of trophies and titles, Assaf leaked injuries and surgeries.
Four of these in the wrists, and another four in the knees that could not withstand the load.
The Argentine missed days, weeks, months and eventually years.
It dropped from the top ten in the rankings to the depths of 200th place and even 600th, and at a very early stage it was possible to understand that what could have been - will never be.
This understanding, which is not simple at all, gave birth to the magic called Juan Martin del Potro.
Vuelve Juan Martín Del Potro, chico que con 20 años le gano a Roger Federer y levantó el US Open 🏆🗽pic.twitter.com / J0ljAmlXdD
- Tiempo De Tenis (@ Tiempodetenis1) February 8, 2022
At a time when tennis was dominated by three aliens blessed with physical and mental abilities that transcended the atmosphere, Del Potro was the most human thing in the round.
A brilliant tennis player, but also a person who has to deal with the difficulties that this life throws at you.
He succeeded, was wounded, suffered, fought, returned, wounded again and the face of which his potential was no longer realized.
But the Argentine, perhaps more than any other tennis player in those years, did not hide for a moment the fact that this business is difficult and tough, and at times unbearable.
More than once he seems to want to die while playing, only to stay alive in the end.
He did not add any Grand Slam titles, but among the serious injuries he managed to garner moments of happiness, such as the bronze medal in London 2012, the silver in Rio 2016 and winning the Davis Cup that year.
To all this he added some big victories over big players, which were a reminder of where he could have gone had the body collaborated with the talent who before the age of 20 won four ATP tournaments, winning 23 consecutive games.
Del Potro kisses the net in his last game of his career, Photo: AFP
The good, the bad and the terrible hurt
Therefore - happiness should not be there in large quantities when Del Potro concludes his career.
He was asked to assume disappointment, failure, failure, but the greatest thing he leaves behind is the ability to accept wholeheartedly what is there.
Even when the knee fell apart and the wrist burned in pain, Delpo tried to get the most out of it.
He never excused himself and did not sail in thoughts of "what if".
Every time he came on the field he revealed the most human angle of the sport - the good, the bad and the terribly painful.
This is what made him so loved, this is the legacy he left behind.
"The hardest thing to achieve is not degrees or a high rating," he concluded at the end of what may be his last game of his career. ".
Juan Martin del Potro - The Numbers,
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