Former World No. 3 Juan Martin del Potro is one of the unfortunate players whose injuries plagued his entire career. However, the Argentine has never been the one to go out without a fight. And given his recent training video, he might finally be returning on the Tour for the US Open 2021.
Notably, the last time del Potro played a competitive match was the first-round match against Denis Shapovalov in Queen’s Club in 2019. In that match, he suffered a career-threatening injury on his kneecap and has not returned. Consequently, the 32-year-old also withdrew from the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.
Since then, the Argentine has undergone surgeries four times and is consistently working on his recovery. He has even stated more than once how much he aches to be back on the Tour.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Juan Martin del Potro hits the court for a potential US Open 2021 return
With arguably the best forehand in tennis, del Potro would give it his all to spend his last tennis years on the court. Although the movement is still very stiff from him, the shot completion is right on.
During the video of the drill, the Argentine is hitting clean groundstrokes from both sides. To put it mildly, the forehand, the backhand, and the forehand-backhand combo are spectacular.
Delpo! pic.twitter.com/BWv9QPDqWn
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) July 20, 2021
Furthermore, there is no doubt that Delpo must be missing going to the Tokyo Olympics to represent his nation. In the 2012 London Olympics and 2016 Rio Olympics, he bagged the bronze and silver medals, respectively. Thus, a gold medal was in line as per the sequence.
Instead, del Potro will have to watch the Games unfold much like the fans from around the world – on a television.?
Watch this story: Decoding the Reality of Anti-Sex Beds at Tokyo Olympics 2020
What to expect from del Potro at US Open 2021
Although it is still unclear how much del Potro has recovered, the US Open 2021 in August-end might be on his goal list. However, he also needs match time before he competes with the young crop of men on the Tour.
Once upon a time, Juan Martin del Potro defeated Roger Federer in the 2009 US Open final. With that, he also ended the Swiss maestro’s streak of five consecutive titles in Flushing Meadows. Hence, the court in New York would indeed be the most special to him.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Hopefully, the training will only improve for him from here on, and fans might see del Potro competing for a title soon.