Wrist injury a concern for del Potro
Originally published on: 20/08/12 00:00
Del Potro, who climbed today to No.8 in the world rankings, equaling his best position for two years, reached the semi-finals of the Masters 1000 tournament in Cincinnati last week, but was comprehensively beaten in the semi-finals by Novak Djokovic, the man he had overcome to win an Olympic bronze medal just a fortnight earlier at Wimbledon. He admitted that he was troubled by wrist pain throughout the match. He said he did not retire out of respect for his opponent and the crowd.
“The pain bothered me all the time and I didn’t want risk too much,” Del Potro said. “I have experience in wrist problems and I would like to take time to fix this little problem.”
The timing could not be worse for Del Potro, with the start of the US Open just a week away. He has had a very good year, winning tournaments in Marseille and Estoril and also reaching the quarter-finals or better in Sydney, Melbourne, Rotterdam, Dubai, Indian Wells, Madrid, Roland Garros, the Olympics and now Cincinnati.
When asked to compare Del Potro’s level now with 2009, when he won at Fushing Meadows, Djokovic said: “I think he's a better player than he was back then. He had an exceptional tournament at the US Open in 2009, when he won his first major. But he always had the potential to be one of the best tennis players in the world – and he still does. He has all the shots, he has big power, a big serve, and he moves really well for somebody of his size. It's obviously now question of whether he can stay healthy, because injuries kept him away from the tour for a while.”
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