Juan Martin del Potro disconsolate in Dubai after being forced to retire with an injured wrist

Juan Martin del Potro

A teary-eyed Juan Martin del Potro admitted in the press conference yesterday that he had been feeling a similar pain in his wrist as the one that derailed his blossoming career back in 2010.

“I don’t really feel well. My wrist is hurting a lot, and you know everybody knows what happened to me four years ago with the other wrist. It’s hurting all the time, and sometimes it’s less and sometimes little more,” he said.

In 2009, del Potro reached the pinnacle of his career when he defeated Nadal and Federer back-to-back to lift the U.S. Open trophy. He was heralded by most journalists and analysts as the man who could end the Big Four’s dominance in the sport. Unfortunately though, he came into the 2010 Australian Open with an injured wrist and surgery forced him to miss the rest of the season.

This year, he lost in the second round of the Australian Open to Roberto Bautista-Agut and received treatment for his left wrist after. Richard Berger, his doctor in Minnesota, advised him that it was okay to play in Dubai but he only lasted for an hour before retiring against Somdev Devvarman.

“It was really tough to play today and I tried everything, but it’s very difficult to play in these conditions. I was forced to play slices and I couldn’t play the way I wanted to,” del Potro said dejectedly.

Devvarman kept his composure in his match against the struggling Argentine and adapted accordingly. “By 3-all in the match, I felt that he was chipping a lot. I have seen him play a good amount of matches and he doesn’t really chip much,” said Devvarman to the press. The Indian kept attacking his backhand and stayed as far as possible from his forehand, especially when he was down three set points on his serve at 5-6.

Del Potro said that he wouldn’t have continued even if he had won the first set because he was in a lot of pain and did not want to continue playing the way he was.

He refused to say if he might need surgery again and said he would assess the current situation with his doctor who he has a lot of faith in as he helped him recover from his right wrist injury. “It’s not really positive thing for my future, but the good thing is that he’s still confident, and he’s trying put me on court all the time. Of course I will do what he say and I have to be strong as ever,” he added.

The implications of this injury will only be clear over the next couple of months. It could mean another stint on the sidelines for the big-serving Argentine. If that does happen, it would be a major blow to men’s tennis as del Potro was just beginning to get back to some of his best form. He had ended 2013 strongly at No. 5 by beating both Federer and Nadal.

Del Potro posted the following message on his Facebook page late on Tuesday night:

“First of all I want to thank you for the support that is coming from all over the world. Of course, it is a sad moment for me. This is not what I planned when I was doing the tough pre-season training in December, when I dreamed about having the chance of getting closer to the top players. However, it is not the first obstacle I find during my career. If I have learnt something, it’s to get up after I fall.

The wrist problem has been worrying me for two years, with ups and downs, but always with the support of my team, my family, my friends and of course you, who stood always there during good and bad times. Despite this wrist issue and missing Roland Garros because of illness, I did pretty well and could equal my career-high singles ranking.

These days it’s frustrating not being able to play like I could if I were healthy. I have full confidence in my doctor, Richard Berger, who found the solution to the other wrist injury in 2010. I will follow his advice and will do the rehabilitation exercises he suggested, and then we will evaluate the steps to follow.

Again, thanks for the support! I promise to keep fighting as I always did.”

Here’s wishing Juan Martin del Potro a speedy recovery and hoping he’s back on court, playing his scintillating style of tennis, soon.