During his marathon encounter at the French Open on Thursday, Juan Martin del Potro’s threat wasn’t just who he was playing on the other side of the court. It was also his injury-stricken body.
The Argentine giant took to the courts at Roland Garros and engaged in a marathon clash with Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka. The two players battled for almost four hours with Del Potro fighting back to win 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-2, in the second round. Making it the eighth time in his career he has won a match when it has gone to five sets.
During the clash, an unwelcome feeling came back to haunt the eighth seed. Who was forced to take a injury timeout to have treatment on his right knee. Del Potro has already missed a large chunk of this season after damaging his kneecap last October at the Shanghai Masters.
“I slid and I lost my balance, and I hurt my hip, and this also resounded in my knee.” He said afterwards. “I felt a weird feeling, which worried me, rather. And after all I have gone through with the feelings in my knee.”
A former US Open champion back in 2009, Del Potro’s career has been tainted and even almost ended by injury setbacks. According to information from the ATP Tour, he has missed a total of three years of tennis since 2010 due to problems concerning his wrists and knees. During that time, he has undergone four surgeries on his wrists.
The saddest stat in tennis = Del Potro's injury timeline
Jan-Sep 10: right wrist (8 months)
Feb-Jan 14-15: Left wrist (11 months)
Mar-Feb 15-16: left wrist (11 months)
Oct-Feb 18-19: right knee (4 months)
Feb-Apr 19: right knee (2 months)TOTAL INJURY TIME = 36 months (3 years)
— Adam_Addicott (@AdamAddicott) May 16, 2019
It is for this reason why the Argentine feared the worst when he felt fresh pain whilst playing Nishioka. Nevertheless, he managed to overcome the scare with the help of what he described as his own ‘mental strength.’
“I had to be careful and fight mentally during those games to make the best decision and decide what I had to do to play correctly.” He said.
“It was costing me to move and to play, but if you’re strong mentally, the passion, the desire to play and to compete is what takes over. And that’s how I won.”
It is a cruel situation for Del Potro to be once again battling to keep his body healthy, but that it where he is at. There are currently no signs to suggest that he will quit the tournament. However, he is keeping cautious.
“It’s not easy to deal these kind of pains after all my old injuries, but I manage well during the game, and now I have a day off to recovery and see how I feel.” Del Potro concluded.
In the third round, Del Potro will take on Australia’s Jordan Thompson.
