Juan Martin del Potro has made his U.S. Open comeback.
Although not on the match court, the 2009 U.S. Open champion returned to the practice courts at the Billie Jean King USTA National Tennis Center on September 7 where he hit with four-time U.S. Open champion John McEnroe will re-acclaimating himself to the pro tour at the site of his greatest accomplishment.
“I’m so happy to be back in my second house. This place is amazing to me,” del Potro said in an interview on ESPN alongside McEnroe.
“That’s one of the reason that I came here, was him,” said del Potro of McEnroe. “So I’m so happy to be back in my place, in my tournament. I’m excited to feel better and be back as a protagonist next year and be on court.”
“The Gentle Giant” as he is known – and as the biography of him written by Argentine tennis writer Sebastian Torok is titled – said his knee injury is improving and he has been practicing more and more rigourously, as seen on his social media. He said he expects to return to competitive tennis in “a couple of months.” He said “So, if everything goes well, next season will be fine to start.”
“He’s still got the game, obviously,” said McEnroe. “It’s all about, we know about the health. It’s been just a nightmare, so I feel you got to have mixed feelings. You love it in the one hand being here, but also it’s got to be tough watching guys you think you can beat up on.”
McEnroe asked del Potro on the subject of mental health, a trending topic in tennis these days, and how he has dealt with the negativity of his battle with injuries since he last played an ATP match in 2019. “If there’s ever a guy that’s got to struggle to be positive, the last couple of years, especially you’ve had this happen I believe three times, you got hurt, came back, rest, then came back, got back, got hurt again. Now the knee, your back you’re making progress. You were three in the world. So just tell me how you’ve been trying to handle it? Asked McEnroe.
“I love the challenge,” answered del Potro. “It could be a tennis challenge or like a different way of challenge on the life. And this is like a tougher (part) in my career because I cannot deal with these kind of injuries, this pain that I have now, but I’m a still trying. I’m trying and I think this is the life. I believe in myself that this is going to be in the past for sure. But I think it’s also a message to the young kids to all players, all the people around the world that they never have to give up following a dream and that’s what I’m doing with myself.”
The book “Juan Martin del Potro: The Gentle Giant” by Torok is the first English-language book on Argentine tennis great. For sale and download here via amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1937559920/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_U_x_lRArEbY4VMWP3 the book 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 and Haley Hunt.
The book is published by New Chapter Press. Founded in 1987, New Chapter Press (www.NewChapterMedia.com) is also the publisher of “The Greatest Tennis Matches of All-Time” by Steve Flink, “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 among many others.
