(Tennis news) Juan Martin del Potro announced through social media that he was hoping to make a comeback on tour in the 2022 season. He last played in 2019 and has been recovering from knee injury. Del Potro has had multiple surgeries on his knee and wrist which has caused multiple breaks in his career.
"I’ve been training really hard. Some days are better than others, but always with the hope of coming back to compete early next year," Del Potro said. "It would be very special to come back to Buenos Aires and then play in Rio. As you can imagine, I’m giving my all every day so we can meet again very soon. I’ll keep you all updated with my progress. Take care.”
Del Potro's best moment on tour came in 2009 at the US Open. He became the first to defeat Roger Federer and Rafeal Nadal during the same Grand Slam. Del Potro was then 20 years old as he defeated Nadal in straight sets in the semifinal and in the final against five time defending champion Federer. Federer was only two points away from winning the title in the fourth set but Del Potro came back to win his first and only Grand Slam title. Del Potro is the only man outside the big four to win a major since the 2005 Australian Open till the 2014 Australian Open where Stan Wawrinka broke the streak. Del Potro again reached the finals at the US Open in 2018 where he lost to Novak Djokovic.
Del Potro has been one of the hardest hitters of the ball on tour. His forehands are known to reach speeds of almost 190 km/ hour and at an average of around 140 km/hour. He uses the eastern grip for his forehand and hits it flat without much wrist use. His height and long arms allows him to hit the ball even harder, he can hit hard forehands multiple times in a rally and his on the run shot has been compared to Fernando González. González is known to have one of the best forehands in tennis history as it was often used to hit powerful winners.
The Argentine is 6 feet 6 inches tall which gives him fast first serves and good reach while picking up a dropshot. His backhand is much slower than his forehand which exposes his weakness although it was much stronger in his early days before the wrist surgeries which limited the movement.
Del Potro was last seen playing in 2019 at London at Cinch Championships, he issued a walkover in the second round after falling at the net in the previous match against Denis Shapovalov. He had to undergo surgery on his right knee since then has not played a match on tour. He last won a title in 2018 at Indian wells for his first Masters 1000 title as he defeated Federer in the final.
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