Juan Martin del Potro's derailing injuries make for a very sad, almost tragic tale. Affectionately known as DelPo, he had already exceeded Novak Djokovic by late 2009, and was arguably at the level of greats Federer and Nadal, but was cut down by a severe wrist injury and surgery in 2010. His limited comebacks after injuries in 2010 and thereafter have provided some happiness for his fans, and generated hope, albeit short-lived, only to see them dashed against the rocky path of what might have been again and again.
His lone major title might have been exceeded by his stalwart Olympic performances in 2012 and 2016. In the 2012 SF round, the 8th seeded Argentine extended the Swiss Maestro to the longest 3 set match in the history of Open tennis on the lawns of Wimbledon losing 19-17, (many said the true final. You're welcome Andy), but glorified Argentina by defeating Srbija's #1 in the Bronze medal round. In 2016 Rio's Olympics, as a mere shadow of his former self, an unseeded outsider (#141) returning from yet another injury, he cruelly crushed Srbija's dreams of a medal in the first round beating the World #1, bringing many to tears, both devestated and elated, and later earned the Silver medal, by beating the #3 seeded Spanish Bull in a hard fought SF match, and afterwards losing the Gold medal final to Great Britain's #1, and thereby unknowingly, except to our own pepita1984, propelling the talented Scot to the eventual Year End #1.
When healthy, he had perhaps the most feared forehand in history, and it is truly a shame that his body has prevented him from achieving even more greatness, while allowing others more success than they perhaps deserve, but ultimately, suffering comes with its own blessings and humility.
Most respectfully,
masterclass
