Argentinian Juan Martin Del Potro, former world No.3, lost 6-1, 6-3 on Tuesday to his compatriot Federico Delbonis in the Buenos Aires tournament, but he did not record the end of his career as he had previously suggested.
“Today is a break. I will always leave the door open. But I’m putting tennis on the back burner until my leg gets better. If it works, I’ll put other cards on the table. For the moment, I have no certainty about Rio”, he explained in a post-match press conference, referring to the Brazilian tournament which begins on Monday and where his participation, for commercial reasons , is not excluded.
After the defeat against Delbonis (N.42 in the world) during this first round of the ATP tournament, the 33-year-old Argentinian was cheered by the 5,000 spectators, who sang “Delpo, don’t leave! and who posted written messages of sympathy for him.
“Today I gave everything I had, down to the last point. I’m happy because my last game, probably, was on a court and not giving a press conference,” he told the audience. “We may never see each other again”, also launched “Delpo”, with tears in his eyes.
Winner of the US Open in 2009
“To be honest, it’s a moment that I never wanted to see happen. My health leads me to have to make a decision. I don’t have as much strength as a lot of people think. I think I have realized all my tennis dreams. Today, I wish I could sleep without pain,” explained the 753rd in the world.
Del Potro, who had not played on the circuit for almost three years because of a knee injury, had nevertheless announced on Saturday that it was a question of a “farewell more than a return “, and that there was” no better tournament than that of Buenos Aires to “retire.
The 1.98m Argentinian, nicknamed the Tower of Tandil, had his finest hour at the 2009 US Open by defeating Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals and then Roger Federer in the final, in five sets, thus becoming the first Argentinian since Guillermo Vilas, in 1977, to win a Grand Slam tournament. The only one of his career.
‘Delpo’ also helped give Argentina their first Davis Cup in 2016, winning a decisive point, that of the equalizer at 2-2 on Sunday, against the Croatian Marin Cilic. Then Federico Delbonis scored the third point, that of a historic victory.
The best Argentine player of the last twenty years has also won two hard-fought Olympic medals. Bronze at London-2012, beating Novak Djokovic, then silver at Rio-2016, after beating Djokovic and Nadal but yielding in the final against Andy Murray.