Many people might be talking about the return of a number of stars at the Australian Open. The likes of Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Kei Nishikori, and Milos Raonic all suffered lengthy injuries that ended their 2017 seasons early.
Yet it might be apt to talk about the return of one player to Melbourne. Juan Martin del Potro has not graced the courts of the season-opening grand slam event since 2014, as wrist injury absences curtailed what might have been the most fruitful spell of his career.
The Argentine looks positively ahead to next year’s event though, after a successful season that saw him finish the year just outside the Top 10.
Del Potro speaking to ESPN: “I hope to start the season well. The first-half of the season will be important because I didn’t play well, and I could progress a lot (in the rankings). The goal is to keep the level I ended up at, like it happened at the US Open, Shanghai, and the Basel final against Federer. That’s what motivates me.”
Del Potro only won three matches at Roland Garros and Wimbledon combined in 2017, and did not win his first title of the season until Stockholm, after the US Open.
Del Potro also admitted to some motivational issues after huge efforts for his country in securing an Olympic Silver Medal and Argentina’s first Davis Cup title at the end of 2016: “After winning the Olympic medal, the Davis Cup title it wasn’t easy for me to re-group mentally, I was totally empty. I also struggled to find motivation, you get carried away with what happened but now I am working hard to play the tournaments I didn’t, this year.”
Talking about Australia in the new year del Potro is excited, but wary: “‘I always like to go far, to be still there in the last days, but it will be hot and you always have upsets.”
With a ranking of No.11 del Potro is more likely to be a victim of an upset than a beneficiary, unless he improves on his career-best run of reaching the quarter-finals in Melbourne.
