Juan Martin del Potro has played down speculation that he may return to the help of former coach Franco Davin.
The former US Open champion made the comments following his loss to France’s Lucas Pouille in the third round of the Wimbledon Championships. Resuming his match from Saturday on court 12, the Argentine crashed out 6-7(4), 7-6(6), 7-5, 6-1.
During this year’s Wimbledon Championships Del Potro has been working alongside Dani Vallverdu, the former coach of both Andy Murray and Tomas Berdych. Currently the partnership is just for the grass-court season, however, it is still to be confirmed if the two will resume their work together beyond Wimbledon.
One potential option for the Argentine was a return to the guidance of Davin, his former coach of seven years. Under the watchful eyes of Davin, Del Potro won 13 ATP titles (including the US Open) and an Olympic bronze medal. His former coach recently became available after the ending of his collaboration with Grigor Dimitrov. Speaking about his future intentions, Del Potro has dismissed the idea of reuniting with his ex-coach.
“No, I just started to work with Dani a few weeks ago,” Del Potro said about the possibility of working with Davin.
“I said before the tournament, I wish all the best to Franco and Grigor. They are great people, and both are very good professionals. They deserve to be better in the future, together or separate. I wish all the best.”
Playing at Wimbledon for the first time since 2013 due to injury, Del Potro has admitted that he still has far to go regarding his fitness levels.
“My body is hurting everywhere, but that’s normal after a big match against Wawrinka. I have to keep working hard, because in the future, I will need to be ready between matches and feel better physically than today.”
Returning to the tour from a wrist injury in February, the 27-year-old still knows that he has a long way to go to reach the form which took him to his first grand slam title in 2009. It is a frustrating journey, but one the Argentine is prepared to make.
“I’m not rushing to play better, I’m not hurried to grow up in the ranking. I just have to stay patient and keep working hard, trying to get better as soon as I can.” He said.
Following his run to the third round at Wimbledon, Del Potro is projected to rise inside the top-150 in the world rankings for the first time since January 2015.
