'Here I am, with nothing' - Juan Martin del Potro opens up on injury struggles following tennis retirement
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Published 29/09/2022 at 15:57 GMT
Juan Martin del Potro bid an emotional farewell to tennis earlier this year after struggling with a knee issue. Del Potro's career was blighted by injuries but he still reached No. 3 in the world rankings, won the US Open in 2009 and made the final of the same Grand Slam in 2018. He has revealed how "hard" he is finding recovery and says he feels that he now has "nothing".
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Juan Martin del Potro has opened up on the extent of his daily struggles with his knee injury, saying he can’t run or walk up stairs without pain.
The former world No. 3 and 2009 US Open champion retired earlier this year following several attempted comebacks.
He underwent four knee surgeries in a bid to get back on the tour, but says even without tennis he has seen no “positive” progress with his recovery.
"I recently went to Switzerland to see another doctor,” he told La Nacion.
"I started another treatment, it was recommended by many tennis players and so far I have not even had a positive result. Imagine what it’s like after every treatment attempt or surgery, the frustration I can feel when things don’t work out.
"As usual I delude myself, I hope, I have faith in every new treatment I try and, when this fails, the blow is hard.
“And for three and a half years, despite several surgeries and treatments, it always happened.
"Today I can only walk, I can’t run on the treadmill, I can’t climb the stairs without pain. I can’t drive for a long time without stopping to stretch my legs.
"This is my reality, which is hard, it is sad, but I always try to improve my situation and my new challenge is also to live in the best possible way, even psychologically, despite my problem."
Del Potro won 22 singles titles and also the Davis Cup with Argentina in 2016.
But his career is still one of the big ‘what ifs’ in tennis.
The hard-hitting Argentine was blighted by injuries and had he stayed healthier he may well have challenged Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal for more Grand Slam titles.
He beat Nadal and Federer on his way to winning his only Grand Slam title in 2009 and beat Nadal again before losing to Djokovic in the 2018 US Open final.
He bid farewell to tennis at his home tournament in Buenos Aires earlier this year, laying his iconic bandana over the net after losing to Federico Delbonis. He then withdrew from a scheduled appearance at the Rio Open and at 34 it looks like he will never play on the tour again.
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"I can’t psychologically accept a life without tennis,” he admitted.
“I was No. 3 in the world, until suddenly, I broke my knees and here I am, with nothing.
"I did not have a gradual transition to the after, I did not prepare, I have no idea what the other athletes did to live this process peacefully.
"And all this time I was trying to recover, as I have with any other injury, until in Buenos Aires I said: ‘That’s enough’.
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Juan Martin del Potro celebrates winning the 2009 US Open
Image credit: Getty Images
"And from Buenos Aires I found myself, and I am still there, in that process of reflection, I wonder what things I might like, I don’t know.
"When I talk to other athletes who are no longer active, they say to me, ‘Well, it took me the last two years of my career, the last year, I prepared myself this way or that way. I’m doing it now."
Del Potro’s career highlight came in New York in 2009.
He beat Marin Cilic in the quarter-finals and then thrashed Nadal in straight sets to make the final, where he produced a superb performance to win in five sets and prevent Federer winning the tournament for a sixth year in a row.
He also made the French Open semi-finals in 2009 and 2018 and the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2013.
He reached his career-high No. 3 in the rankings in the summer of 2018.
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