Why Argentina shouldn’t despair after enduring a disappointing year

2015 hasn’t been the luckiest year for Argentine tennis players on the men’s tour as they end the season with no ATP titles for the first time since 1997.

Two of Argentina’s biggest stars are currently out of action due to injury, Juan Martin Del Potro and Juan Monaco. 2009 US Open champion Del Potro hasn’t played on the tour since the first round of the Miami Masters in March due to undergoing another operation on his troublesome wrist. Despite the setbacks for the 27-year-old, Del Potro has maintained his passion for the sport throughout his recovery as he bids to make a return to the tour early next year.

“All the effort I’m making since I took the decision of undergoing surgery for the last time will end up in a comeback. The only question mark is the date of my return. There’s no doubt I will play again, the only doubt is when and where.” Del Potro recently wrote in a post on medium.com.

Another player in a similar situation to Del Potro is world No.54 Juan Monaco. Monaco, who is known in his home country as ‘pico’, underwent surgery on his right wrist in August after suffering ‘intense pain’. Similar to his fellow countryman, Monaco is also determined to return to the tour early next year.

“The idea is to start  the preseason in mid-December. So I do not think the Australian Open conditions will be ideal, but if I feel good, I could try. Anyway, as I will train on clay, the goal is to start in the South American tour”. Monaco said during a recent interview with La Nacion.

Despite two of their players being sidelined with injury, Argentina is not short of talent on the men’s tour. Besides Monaco there are four other players ranked inside the top 75. Headlining the group is world No.35 Leonardo Mayer, who came agonisingly close to claiming his second ATP title before losing in three sets to Dominic Thiem at the Open de Nice Côte d’Azur. Mayer was one of two Argentine men to reach an ATP Final this year (the other was Monaco at the Argentina Open).

The country has also enjoyed success on the Challenger tour with five of their players claiming a combined total of 11 titles (as at 12/11/2015). World No.53 Frederico Delbonis has claimed three Challenger titles on clay. Despite his trio of Challenger titles, Delbonis has lost in the first round of every Grand Slam this year  against players such as Nick Kyrgios and Grigor Dimitrov.  Other Challenger title winners include world No.66 Máximo González (2), No.73 Guido Pella (3), No.124 Facundo Arguello (2) and No.143 Facundo Bagnis (1).

The absence of a ATP title this year will be a bitter pill for Argentina after winning at least one title over the past 18 years. Nevertheless, it is absurd to start counting the nation out when there is a strong group of players ranked inside the top 75, not counting the two players who are currently out due to injury. They may have come short on the ATP Tour this year, however, the performance produced by their men is what some other nations only dream of. 2015 is a disappointing year for the Argentine men, but it is definitely not a disastrous one.

List of Argentine players ranked inside the top 100 (as 9/11/15)