Juan Martin Del Potro was thought to have played his last match at the Argentina Open in February of 2022.
However, that may not be the case.
Del Potro never entirely shut the door on another comeback to tennis and apparently that door remains open. The 2009 U.S. Open champion said on Sunday that he hopes to return this summer in New York, if his health allows. A recurring knee injury would have to show drastic signs of improvement–something that even Del Potro admits is far from a guarantee.
“I love tennis,” the 34-year-old Argentine assured. “it will never be a problem to pick up a racket and see how I feel. The physical problem and my knee are things I work on every day. I’m going to leave that window open–at least until the U.S. Open. This is the most special tournament for me. I still have time. I will start training; see how my leg and knee react and if I can do it or not.”
Del Potro’s “retirement” of sorts last season was due to a recurring knee injury that virtually his ended his career at Queen’s Club in 2019. He has played only one match since–an obvious farewell to tennis (at least at the time) against Federico Delbonis in the Buenos Aires first round a year ago. Delbonis won 6-1, 6-3.
A U.S. Open appearance would make sense relative to any other tournament. Del Potro is 35-9 lifetime in New York, beat Roger Federer in a five-set thriller in the 2009 final, finished runner-up to Novak Djokovic in 2018, reached the semis in 2017, and advanced to the quarterfinals on three other occasions.
I doubt it, but would be epic.