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Del Potro's success if he had minimal to no injuries on tour.

  • 5 plus slams , 3+ masters and some time spent in top 3 and or a week or two spent at #1.

    Votes: 4 18.2%
  • 3 plus slams, two masters , consistent time in Top 5/4 next to Murray and more big wins.

    Votes: 12 54.5%
  • 2 plus slams, one master , time spent in top ten , with upsets and a lot of 500 wins.

    Votes: 6 27.3%
  • 1 slam, one master, same career as right now, maybe a few more 500/250 wins

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Other

    Votes: 0 0.0%

I've been bemusing the harsh realities... one of them being Del Potro , realistically how many slams.. if he had an Injury more like Djokovic and fed?

2K views 33 replies 20 participants last post by  norwood_10 
#1 ·
Part of the reason for Djokovic and Federer's major success is their ability to be basically injury free. Its not an ability, maybe its genetics, training, etc. Regardless Djokovic and Federer have enjoyed probably 12+ years on the tour, practically injury free.

Federer had his back issues and had to have knee surgery, but he has been able to easily comeback from both injuries , actually having phenomenal years post problems. 2014 and 2017.

Djokovic had a niggling elbow injury and maybe a shoulder for a while , but nothing that has taken him out again and again. Even in 2017 when he disappeared , he came and won AO 2018 and Wimbledon 2018 and has had barely any problems since.

Nadal has also had injuries , but they seem to have been rarely anything major that takes him out for one full year.

Let's get to the point. 2008 we saw the ascendancy of a young Argentinian, who had the fire, passion and power to cause some real damage on tour. The next year he beat Nadal and Federer in succession. Del Potro had no fear against two of the all time greats and instead of folding like a cheap tent and getting nervous and being "Happy" for Federer or Nadal winning, he beat them both.

He got as far as making the WTF finals against a peaking Playstationdenko.

2010 roll along and he gets injured, the wrist. He comes back in 2011 and loses to a Marcos Baghdatis, dropping him down to number 458. Not to soon after he is playing Nadal in an Indian Wells Semi Final. He does well enough and keeps on winning and losing to good opponents , with the highlight of losing to Nadal at Davis Cup.

Goes from number 458 - 11

2012 and 2013 he gave his all , and played brutal matches against big 3 and played in a GOAT match with Djokovic Wimbledon 2013. Moved back into top 10 and shortly back into top 5. But in 2013 you could tell it was taxing on him physically and mentally. He would flex the wrist and stretch with some grimaces on his face, but he never retired.

2014-2015 - Two years gone. That's it. Misses two crucial years where the tour was not at its best. He came back for about one or two tournaments in 2015 and quickly bowed out.

2016 he comes back ... with a forehand and slice backhand and has to play the most motivated Murray in the Olympics only barely losing after his body gives up.

2017 he is doing better but still is not smacking a two handed backhand. Still manages to have a fantastic US Open , beating Thiem and Federer , before bowing out to peaking Nadal

2018 looked to be the year. He won Indian Wells , hitting two handed backhands, barely lost to Nadal in Wimbledon and only lost to a peaking Djokovic in the US Open finals. Fractures his KNEE.

Now we have no tennis and Del Potro missed basically another year in 2019. Had injuries and finally gave out again.

The guys has missed 4-5 years of play in total in comparison to a decent 8 years of playing.... The only problem is that every injury he has had , hasn't allowed him to just spring right back, after sitting on the couch and look like a floating butterfly , while dancing around AO courts.... He has needed a jump start year to settle himself back in and when he is at the top .. something always happens.

4 surgeries on the wrists and a messed up knee.

What do you all think about Del Potro's slam count, masters , count , etc. if he had minimal to no injuries? To be fair during his ascendancy , he has had to play peak versions of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic , so maybe it might not look that different, but we have seen that his peak is good enough to beat anyone.

I leave it to you MTF.
 
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#3 ·
He's one of my favourites, but he never had the consistency that was necessary to make a big impact on the sport. Also, the Big 3 and Murray were always going deep in tournaments, compounding the problem.

Del Potro had no chances at the Australian Open - his least successful slam. The same can be said for Roland Garros. My heart is telling me he would have won one more slam...somewhere. Perhaps Wimbledon 2017? That was the weakest slam in a while, with a weak and injured slam finalist.

I would say one more slam.
 
#7 ·
At such a height and weight that he plays at, injury is almost inevitable unfortunately. Throwing your body around the court at that size, running around with guys like Ferrer and the like, it's just grinding. He always had fitness concerns, always looked about to collapse aerobically, but then he throws down 220 kph serve

Answering the mythical question, if he only had a regular amount of injuries and not the avalanche he has had, maybe 5 slams total

Maybe he could have played basketball and had a longer, less injurious career
 
#10 · (Edited)
Am a big fan of Delpo esp. when that FH is firing but for one but his physique is probably more suitable as a forward in basketball or even a tight end in football & not for the rigorous lateral sprinting required in tennis. Secondly, I don’t think he has had as good trainers or even coaches as the big 3 have had. Sadly, after so much time taken away from rehabbing, I see Masters as more likely than majors but if I had to pick one, i’d lean towards another USO.
 
#13 ·
He didn't just have bad luck with injuries, he was basically injury-prone.

Even before he won his lone slam in a spectacular fashion back in 2009, he's already had a long history of getting knocked out by injuries and having to repeatedly come back from them. And he was only 21 years old at the time.

Feels like this is as far as he was ever going to get with Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Murray and Wawrinka in the mix. There was Cilic, too, but he never seemed to have the mentality to compete with the contemporary slam champions.
 
#14 ·
Del Po isnt far off Stan and Andy to me, that great power is an incredible asset
 
#15 ·
There are so many variables at play, could be 1, could be 3, could be 5. I'd say 3, like Wawrinka and Murray.

He won one when he was only 20 against Federer and Nadal (both were still below 30), so you never know.
 
#16 ·
del potro was never the dominant type of player the way those guys were/are. even taking the injuries into account i think of him more as the cilic type of peaking for a while but not being consistant enough to really challenge all year long. that being said marin is still a great player and has had a great career, there's nothing wrong with that

i could see him winning a handful more if he'd stayed fit. 3 or 4 at most. its not like the h2h's with the big 3 were close. he's dominated by federer and djokovic. slightly better against nadal
 
#17 ·
del potro was never the dominant type of player the way those guys were/are. even taking the injuries into account i think of him more as the cilic type of peaking for a while but not being consistant enough to really challenge all year long. that being said marin is still a great player and has had a great career, there's nothing wrong with that

i could see him winning a handful more if he'd stayed fit. 3 or 4 at most. its not like the h2h's with the big 3 were close. he's dominated by federer and djokovic. slightly better against nadal
He was pretty dominant when he was on tour consistently, he was typically top 10 or better, even top 5 for a good portion of the year.

Most of the wins against him were pretty tight ... without looking them up. 4-16 vs. Djokovic is pretty terrible and yeah its a losing H2H. But peaking in form Del Potro was surely a sight to behold... the unfortunate thing is it took about a year before we could see this version of him again. He got beaten pretty handily by many players , but then would find top form again and get so close.

Look MTF I get it. Del Potro is 6'6 and does a jumping roll on hard court and hits 160kpm forehand. It makes sense.

We can entertain the what ifs. (y)
 
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#23 · (Edited)
Don't forget that Djokovic was injured at US Open 2016. Also, as Phillo pointed out, Djokovic had a brutal and very unfair schedule at RG 2015 (including brutal draw).

Roland Garros is horrible with its treatment of players. They treated one of my favourites - Thiem - horribly last year, and I am still very bitter about it. Thiem was at a huge disadvantage with the schedule, and it showed in the final with him being unable to move after the second set.
 
#25 ·
I don't see the point to come back again with this subject. As a big fan, Delpo has underachieved because of all his injuries (well at least he won a GS, a Master1000 and the Davis Cup) and it has been a lot of frustration for a decade or more, but I am trying to forget it and the good point with the Corona Crisis situation is that my hopes about a possible return have completely vanished. I don't think he will ever come back and the yesterday news about his separation with his coach Sebastien Prieto is certainly not a good sign. At the best, the "Torre from Tandil" will come back just for a kind of farewell tour to say goodbye to his dear fans in selected locations, that's my opinion.
 
#26 ·
I hope he does 4 slams plus IW/Miami and maybe one or two clay South American tournament's, but it would be a big ask to do a full year on tour with his body and age.. he isn't 21 anymore.

How about he wins US Open in 5 setter against a motivated Fognini? We can dream cant we? :LOL:
 
#29 ·
Please dont insult him comparing him to Cilic. DelPo has a mindset of a champion, while Cilic has always been a nervous wreck except for that USO'14.

I guess he would have won around 5 slams total. 2-3 more on hard and 1-2 on grass.

And regarding his "inconsistency", hes been damn consistent for a guy his size and his aggresive gamestyle imo. I dont think anyone can hit that heavy forehand so low above the net as successfully as him.
 
#30 ·
Please dont insult him comparing him to Cilic. DelPo has a mindset of a champion, while Cilic has always been a nervous wreck except for that USO'14.

I guess he would have won around 5 slams total. 2-3 more on hard and 1-2 on grass.

And regarding his "inconsistency", hes been damn consistent for a guy his size and his aggresive gamestyle imo. I dont think anyone can hit that heavy forehand so low above the net as successfully as him.
Amen to that.

To your second point.. yeah I think its super fascinating how he can do top spin and then flatten out his forehand on a dime. Arguably one of the best flat forehands in the history of the game
 
#31 ·
Next to Rafa this giant is one of my favorite players on tour.
Like Rafa he has had so many injuries its kind of unfair. But thats life.
He beat Fererer in 5 sets to win his only slam. Could he do that every year? No. But one here and one there he could of won a few more slams.
His body is not made for tennis. Even Isner Plays simpler tennis.
But when he was at the top of his game he would give the Big 3 a run for their money.
Op is correct about Nole and Federers injuries. But seems a bit lackluster on Rafa injuries.
Haters or not all of us know about his injuries. Some short term others 6 months. They all take a toll of your mind.
Rafa even said last year he was doubtfull about returning to the top. He managed winning RG 19.
Rafa could be a case study about all his injuries.

But back to Del Potro.I always felt he should ski
 
#32 ·
Next to Rafa this giant is one of my favorite players on tour.
Like Rafa he has had so many injuries its kind of unfair. But thats life.
He beat Fererer in 5 sets to win his only slam. Could he do that every year? No. But one here and one there he could of won a few more slams.
His body is not made for tennis. Even Isner Plays simpler tennis.
But when he was at the top of his game he would give the Big 3 a run for their money.
Op is correct about Nole and Federers injuries. But seems a bit lackluster on Rafa injuries.
Haters or not all of us know about his injuries. Some short term others 6 months. They all take a toll of your mind.
Rafa even said last year he was doubtfull about returning to the top. He managed winning RG 19.
Rafa could be a case study about all his injuries.

But back to Del Potro.I always felt he should ski
Rafa has had injuries but not at the severity as Del Potro. I'm sure Del Potro has done the same thing as Nadal, like taking Paracetamol and playing through slams , when his wrist is completely incapacitated, but that is who he is. Difference between Del Potro and Nadal is he has literally been off of tour for almost two years due to an injury 2014-2016. Rafa's knees, elbows, etc. have always plagued him but haven't been something chronic to where he has missed 5 years of his career due to his injuries.

Feel free to bemuse Rafa injuries and what he could have accomplished with no injuries , but I made a Del Potro thread. Please finish your sentence too.


I mean the guy has the heart of a champion and you can guarantee he has never tanked a match or smashed a racquet due to being down a break point.... To me its wild that he will go down as a one slam wonder , when his personality and passion for the game are that of a Federer, Nadal , Djokovic.



This one is for you @Fargif
 
#34 ·
2-3 slams maybe?

I like del Potro but he wasn't always the fittest physically even when injury free. When in his prime if he struggled to a long one, he'd usually pay for it the next round.

What was so crucial to his USO was the fact he chargrilled Nadal 2, 2 and 2 quickly and it enabled him to have a full tank to go for Federer in the final.

Djokovic has always been a troublesome match up for him in the big occasions too. Big 3 + Murray + Stan still around if his injury years were healthy ones makes picking up Slam titles difficult for whoever to be fair

But he'd have deffo won at least one more, possibly two. On a par with Wawrinka
 
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