Defending champion Juan Martin del Potro withdraws from Indian Wells
World No. 4 Juan Martin del Potro won't be defending his BNP Paribas Open title as he has withdrawn from the opening Masters 1000 event of the season in Indian Wells.
The Argentinian, who fractured his kneecap at the Rolex Shanghai Masters in October, returned to competitive action at last week's Delray Beach Open, where he made the quarter-final before losing to American Mackenzie McDonald.
The 30-year-old then withdrew from this week's Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco as his knee wasn't ready for back-to-back tournaments.
Del Potro has played at the Indian Wells event eight times so far in his career.
He ended runner-up at the tournament in 2013 but won it all last year after beating Swiss Roger Federer in the final.
"I wanted to give all of you an update that after playing Delray Beach we had various consultations with different specialists, and we decided that I needed to do a regenerative therapy treatment on my knee," del Potro said in a statement posted on his Twitter account.
"Unfortunately, I will have to wait for several days before I can get back on court and train. I am very sorry that I will not be able to defend my title in Indian Wells. I was really looking forward to going back and playing in such a special place, but I have to wait two weeks to see if the treatment will be effective and allow me to play in Miami."
The Miami Masters is due to kick off on March 20.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2TqbSPu
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