Juan Martin del Potro, one of the world’s most popular tennis players who has endured four wrist surgeries and two recent knee surgeries, has returned to the practice court.
Sebastian Torok of Argentina’s La Nacion newspaper and the author of the new Juan Martin del Potro biography “The Gentle Giant” reports that the 2009 U.S. Open champion has participated in some light on-court hitting at the Tennis Club of Argentina in Buenos Aires.
Del Potro has not competed since he slipped and re-injured his knee cap during the pre-Wimbledon grass court event at Queens in 2019. It was his 12th match since he originally injured his knee cap in Shanghai, China in October of 2018.
Del Potro has been training with fellow Argentine pros Juan Ignacio Londero and Guillermo Duran. Reports are that he is not moving much on the court, but he is still crushing the ball with the same ferocity that he is famous for.
“The cancellation of the circuit and the Tokyo Olympics by the Covid-19 pandemic threatened the motivation of the current 128th in the world who, due to the pains that still haunt him, must make a great effort to return to feeling in a position to compete,” Torok’s article was translated as saying. “However, he is willing to do it and took an important step: he went back to doing tennis training on a court.”
Torok reports that the Argentine government allows for “Olympic athletes” to train under protocols presented by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, the Argentine Olympic Committee and the federations of each discipline. The Argentine Tennis Association drew up a list of the “eligible” players for Tokyo 2020 who could train at CABA, including del Potro, a silver medal winner at the 2016 Olympics and the bronze medal at the 2012 Games.
Torok writes that the Argentine Tennis Club, founded in 1913, has a sanitary protocol: the tennis players and their companions (no more than one per player is allowed) must enter the club with masks; their temperature is taken; when they enter they have to disinfect their shoes; they must have a previous shift to use the courts and the gym; each player one uses his own balls, towels and drinks; and the changing rooms remain closed.
Torok writes that del Potro is still motivated “to fight again for big things” and is determined to write another chapter in his career that has also been defined by his resilience.
Torok reports that those who know del Potro believe that it would not be crazy to think that he could play a tournament before the end of the year, as long as he agrees to play with the knee pain and the circuit continues through the Autumn, despite the coronavirus.
The “Juan Martin del Potro: The Gentle Giant” book, for sale and download here via amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1937559920/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_U_x_lRArEbY4VMWP3 is published by New Chapter Media and tells the story of one of Argentina’s greatest tennis players and the most important of his generation. After winning the 2009 U.S. Open, defeating Roger Federer in a glorious five-set final, del Potro was poised to take over the tennis world. However, wrist problems developed and del Potro endured three surgeries over 15 months. One of the world’s most popular players, del Potro’s fan base grew as he made his comeback—watching him win his second Olympic medal in Rio in 2016, where he once lost to Andy Murray, but won the hearts of millions around the world. He followed up by leading Argentina to victory in the Davis Cup. Described as the “Gentle Giant,” del Potro has the sensitivity to comfort a ball girl hit during a match, to stop in the middle of the game to gaze at a butterfly, and to accompany a young fan in the last days of his life. However, when he grips the racket, he becomes one of the most destructive strikers of a tennis ball.
“This book is an unprecedented trip to the emotional and sporting aspect of one of the best tennis players of the last decade,” said Torok, the author of the book, an internationally regarded tennis writer for La Nacion and with ESPN in Argentina. “Juan Martin del Potro is someone who lived with tragedy since his childhood, a tennis player who hit bottom and had the strength to persevere multiple times. This book was created with more than 70 interviews of people who, in one way or another, had to do with the life of del Potro. I am very excited and proud that this book is now available in English around the world.”
The original version of the book was published in Spanish under the title “El Milagro Del Potro.” The English language book was translated by Luis Rossi of Argentina and Haley Hunt of Brookline, Mass.
Founded in 1987, New Chapter Press (www.NewChapterMedia.com) is also the publisher of “The Greatest Tennis Matches of All-Time” and “Pete Sampras: Greatness Revisited” by Steve Flink, “The Pros: The Forgotten Era of Tennis” by Peter Underwood, “The Education of a Tennis Player” by Rod Laver with Bud Collins, “The Secrets of Spanish Tennis” by Chris Lewit, “The Bud Collins History of Tennis” by Bud Collins, “The Pros: The Forgotten Era Of Tennis” by Peter Underwood, “The Wimbledon Final That Never Was” by Sidney Wood, “Titanic: The Tennis Story” by Lindsay Gibbs, “Macci Magic: Extracting Greatness From Yourself And Others” by Rick Macci with Jim Martz, “Andy Murray, Wimbledon Champion: The Full Extraordinary Story” by Mark Hodgkinson, “Cattle To Courts: A History of Tennis In Texas” by Ken McAllister, “Sport of a Lifetime: Enduring Personal Stories From Tennis” by Judy Aydelott, “Trojan Tennis: A History of the Storied Men’s Tennis Program at the University of Southern California” by S. Mark Young, “Absolute Tennis: The Best And Next Way To Play The Game” by Marty Smith, “How To Permanently Erase Negative Self Talk So You Can Be Extraordinary” by Emily Filloramo, “Acing Depression: A Tennis Champion’s Toughest Match” by Cliff Richey and Hilaire Richey Kallendorf, “Your Playbook For Beating Depression: Essential Strategies For Managing and Living with Depression” by Cliff Richey and Mary Garrison, “Roger Federer: Quest for Perfection” by Rene Stauffer, “The Days of Roger Federer” by Randy Walker, “Jan Kodes: A Journey To Glory From Behind The Iron Curtain” by Jan Kodes with Peter Kolar, “Tennis Made Easy” by Kelly Gunterman, “On This Day In Tennis History” by Randy Walker, “A Player’s Guide To USTA League Tennis” by Tony Serksnis, “Court Confidential: Inside The World Of Tennis” by Neil Harman, “A Backhanded Gift” by Marshall Jon Fisher, “Boycott: Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games” by Tom Caraccioli and Jerry Caraccioli (www.Boycott1980.com), “Internet Dating 101: It’s Complicated, But It Doesn’t Have To Be” by Laura Schreffler, “How To Sell Your Screenplay” by Carl Sautter, “Bone Appetit: Gourmet Cooking For Your Dog” by Suzan Anson, “The Rules of Neighborhood Poker According to Hoyle” by Stewart Wolpin among others.
