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After Setbacks, Del Potro Looks to Return to Form
LONDON – Juan Martín del Potro of Argentina did not overexert himself in practice Monday.
His trademark grunt, usually surfacing when he rips his forehand – a stroke pivotal to his United States Open title in 2009 – was not to be found.
He said “buena,” or good, when his practice opponent, Julien Benneteau, hit an ace that caught a line, and he smiled, turning his head, when Benneteau later smacked a ball in frustration.
It struck a fence about 40 yards away, missing two parked cars.
On Tuesday del Potro defeated Xavier Malisse at the Aegon Championships in London, a Wimbledon warm-up conveniently situated about five miles from the All England Club.
Del Potro knew he was fortunate to escape, rallying from a break down twice in the third set and losing 12 more points over all, and he probably was expecting a difficult evening.
For one, Malisse, a brooding but gifted Belgian, reached the Wimbledon semifinals in 2002.
It was also del Potro’s first match in a month, a comeback.
Another comeback.
“Sometimes it’s like I’ve had two different careers, before the U.S. Open and after I won in New York,” del Potro said.
When he upended Roger Federer in five sets in New York – the only time Federer has lost in his 24 Grand Slam finals after holding a 2-1 lead in sets – he was on the charge.
The serve and forehand producing a devastating combination, the 6-foot-6 del Potro had an opportunity to make up ground on the long ruling quartet atop the men’s game, Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.
He had his sights on the No. 1 ranking and a second Grand Slam title.
But then that second, less harmonious, career began, and the distance between del Potro and the top four stretched longer than the queues outside the All England Club for Wimbledon tickets.
A well-documented right wrist injury that required surgery in Rochester, Minn., and prompted del Potro to consider quitting the sport ruined his 2010 season. He missed eight months, and his ranking sank to 485th in January 2011.
The feeling, among many players, is that recapturing top form usually takes twice as long as the period of inactivity, but del Potro recovered quickly in 2011, ending the campaign at No. 11 to earn the tour’s comeback player of the year award.
He was not yet free from his health problems, however.
A left knee injury hampered him in the spring of 2012, perhaps contributing to Federer’s overturning a two-set deficit in the French Open quarterfinals, and he experienced pain in his left wrist this year.
He skipped the Portugal Open, the Madrid Masters and the French Open because of a virus and its aftereffect, the healing process slowed because he could not take strong medication that would potentially violate doping regulations.
“I went to practice one day for an hour,” del Potro, as gentle as he is tall, said. “I was completely tired, and I had to rest for three or four days after that.
He said he was close to pulling out of this tournament, “but I felt O.K. at home and I said, ‘I’ll come here to practice and be on the circuit again, to get back to the locker room, to be alive again.’ ”
Assessing his journey since the 2009 United States Open as a whole, del Potro, who met Pope Francis, a fellow Argentine, during the Rome Masters, added that “things happen for a reason.”
Asked to come up with one, the 24-year-old replied: “Maybe it’s the price I had to pay for winning a Grand Slam.
“Last year I played really well, sometimes better than in 2009, and I started this season really well. Now other bad things have come to me. I need to be strong to manage these bad things and to keep trying and working, and be positive all the time.”
Positives in his most recent sabbatical included spending time with family and friends, who gave him “good energy,” he said.
Del Potro, ranked eighth, arrived in London last Friday, and he is eager to play in as many matches as he can. Initially scheduled to partner with the American Mardy Fish in doubles, he teamed with last year’s singles champion at Queen’s, Marin Cilic, when Fish withdrew.
Del Potro will be heavily favored to advance to the singles quarterfinals, given he faces the British wild card Dan Evans in the third round. In his return from a back injury, No. 2 Andy Murray led Nicolas Mahut, 6-3, 2-2, before rain canceled play Wednesday.
Del Potro is not dismissing a protracted stay at Wimbledon – the only major in which he has failed to progress to the quarterfinals – especially if his serve is clicking.
The last time del Potro was at the All England Club, he collected a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics by beating Djokovic, and wept in joy.
“I think the most important thing is to make your best effort in every practice and believe in your coaches,” del Potro said. “If you give 100 percent all the time, I don’t know when – but good things will happen.”
http://straightsets.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/12/after-setbacks-del-potro-looks-to-return-to-form/?partner=rss&emc=rss
