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Juan Martin del Potro is one of the greatest athletes of all time from Argentina. Naturally, he would have relationships with many other top Argentine sports stars. In this excerpt from the book by Sebastian Torok “Juan Martin del Potro: The Gentle Giant” (for sale and download here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1937559920/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_WM8TG0EC6JHBSMRT086P via @amazon) Torok writes of the special bond that del Potro has with NBA basketball great Manu Ginobili.

The other one is someone who del Potro shared moments that he isn’t going to forget. Emanuel Ginobili is someone with whom he shares mutual admiration. Ginobili is an example and guide for del Potro, who professes the same respect towards him, the same respect that the entire Argentine sports community have towards the best basketball player in the history of the country. Ginobili enjoyed an extraordinary career that permitted him to shine in European basketball, in the NBA and as a greater star at the Olympic Games who achieved the ultimate on August 28, 2004. Winning the Olympic gold medal in basketball is something that is almost impossible to achieve unless you are the United States, who have only failed in this quest only three times in the history of the Olympics. The first came at the Munich Olympics in 1972 by the hands of the Soviet Union; the second, when the best teams from around the world were absent from the

boycotted Moscow Olympics of 1980; the third being performed as a work of art from that a group of amazing Argentine players in Athens in 2004.
Ginobili and del Potro shared many glories, including a memorable walk in the Opening Ceremonies of the London Olympics in 2012 and many talks during the 2016 Rio Games. The 2016 Olympics were important for both as it was the Olympic swan song for Ginobili, highlighted by a tremendous Argentinian victory against Brazil, and for del Potro, winning the unexpected silver medal with wins over Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.
Manu follows del Potro’s career closely and would watch his matches on television from San Antonio, where he played for the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs.

“I got very excited seeing him and the rest of the team win the Davis Cup and also watching him at the Olympic Games in Rio,” said Ginobili. “I know he went through some difficult times because of his wrist injury, when he was going bad and it generated lots of doubts and uncertainties. Seeing him later playing the way he did and enjoying the moment, I loved it. It gave me great joy. With him we didn’t see each other so many times but we shared lots of time at two Olympic Games and a few meals in Miami when I would go visit Florida and he was there. We had a great time. We shared experiences and talked a little about everything. He’s a very nice guy and his two-year fight with that injury made me value his great 2016 a lot more and get super happy.”

Ginobili is a winner of four NBA Championship rings in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014, all with the Spurs where he formed a magic trio with Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. He is also one of the best ambassadors ever for Argentina. Comparing him and other national sports heroes with del Potro, he said, is something that is not appropriate.

“I think it’s unnecessary to want to rank everything, making lists and that stuff,” said Ginobili. “He gave a Davis Cup for the first time to this country and won two Olympic medals. How can you compare that to someone who does a team sport, one that drove cars or whatever? I don’t see it necessary. He is a monster and we should feel proud of how he is, how he plays and how he represents us apart from enjoying him on the court.”

“Juan Martin del Potro: The Gentle Giant” 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” 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, “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.

Juan Martin and Manu Ginobili have a bond that is detailed in the book “The Gentle Giant” by Sebastian Torok

By Romi Cvitkovic

Each year, American tennis fans congregate in Flushing Meadows to watch their favorite players, rising stars and living legends compete in the annual U.S. Open.

Ticket prices for single sessions range anywhere from upwards of $1000 for the second week, to $64 for grounds passes the first week. With record-breaking crowds and sold out sessions, fans aren’t afraid to flaunt their money at the USTA, the governing body of the U.S. Open, in order to see their favorite players. But at what cost to the athletes?

A recent topic of debate has been equal prize money between the men’s and women’s tours at Slams. But there is another, and perhaps greater, disparity in prize money and that is between governing tennis associations and the players themselves.

During the first eight days of the U.S. Open, around 16,000 grounds passes are sold daily in addition to the 46,000 tickets for both the day and night sessions in Arthur Ashe stadium, and the 1500 or so additional reserved seats in Louis Armstrong stadium.

Grounds pass holders, with access to all courts except Ashe, filled the Armstrong and Grandstand stadiums to capacity all day Sunday as they watched the likes of defending champion Sam Stosur, 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro and 2011 Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova play.

Breaking it down, the two women’s matches last Sunday included three players in the top 11 of world rankings, while the four men’s matches featured five players in the top 20. To see this much great tennis for just $64 for a fan is a steal.

But as grounds passes alone bring in just over $1 million daily to the USTA for those first eight days, there must be some healthy payouts for the players, or rather, losers those eight days as well, right?

Not so fast.

If you were a player that lost on Armstrong or Grandstand in the third round for men or fourth round for women, you would have received $65,000 and $120,000, respectively. That’s a combined $500,000 payout from the $1 million they made for the USTA by just playing. And that’s pretty much the payout cap during days that offer grounds passes, as players who lost in earlier rounds make only $23,000 or $37,000 each.

Not sold on the financial disparity between the USTA and tennis players yet? Consider this.

If we priced the 46,000 Ashe tickets at $150 each – considerably lower than the cost of lower bowl seats but taking into account not all sessions sold out – for the duration of the tournament of roughly 13 days, then the USTA makes about $90 million. Add to that suppliers and sponsors, and broadcasting companies for another $60 million each, and you have the USTA making a mouth-watering $218 million for a two week event – and that’s not even taking into account food, beverage and merchandise sales.

Of the $37 million in prize money available for singles in both the ATP and WTA Tours, players receive a mere 8.6% in revenues from the U.S. Open’s $218 million. Compare that to NFL players receiving 47% of revenue and NBA players receiving 51% of revenue, and we have a real issue on our hands. And this isn’t exclusive to the U.S. Open either, as Wimbledon, Roland Garros and the Australian Open face the same troubles, and weary players threatening to strike.

If the Slams were to decide to increase their prize money, they shouldn’t look to the BNP Paribas Open as an example. In March, owner Larry Ellison twisted the hand of the ATP Tour by feeding in an additional $1.7 million in prize money to the 2012 tournament, but stipulated that $389,000 go into increasing the winner’s paycheck to $1 million while another $700,000 go into the final three rounds only. While the winner received a 64% increase, the first-round losers received only a 8% increase.

As it stands, the 128-player singles draws at the Slams carry a heavy disparity in prize money as the top four finishers receive a combined $3.8 million, or 20% of the prize money. While there is only one male and female winner at the end of the event, fans attend all two weeks to see all the players – not just the championship matches. Rewards to players should reflect that.

Instead of giving players prize money solely based on what round they lost, how about including bonus payouts based on the number of sets won, or some other statistical method that is sure to promote competition and fan interaction?

For a sport with such international reach in terms of fans, players and tournament, prize money disparity should really not be an issue.