Del Potro: 'I knew that Roger Federer would win the 2009 Roland Garros'

A Grand Slam (the US Open 2009) and a Masters 1000 (Indian Wells 2018) are the most prestigious titles conquered by Juan Martin del Potro in his career. In addition to having to deal with countless physical woes in recent years, the Argentine champion has been the victim of the dominance of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic like many of his colleagues who have played in this historical era. During a long interview with ESPN, the former World number 3 recalled the 2009 Roland Garros semifinal against Federer, a burning defeat that still leaves a great bitterness in the mouth of the South American tennis player. Delpo had found himself leading for two sets to one and seemed close to the feat, but the Swiss class helped to reverse the inertia of the match by indelibly marking the outcome of that Parisian Slam edition.

Del Potro: 'That match hurt me a lot'

“Roger Federer and I knew that whoever won that match was a champion because in the final we were going to play with Soderling. I had my chances, but I didn't take advantage of my mistakes. I left the court feeling like a loser, thinking that I had to dedicate myself to another sport. I was not proud to have reached the semi-finals. I felt that this was my first opportunity to win a Grand Slam and I had wasted it. That match hurt me a lot" - Juan Martin del Potro explained. The Argentine also talked about Nick Kyrgios: “Personally, I don't like him. I think he goes beyond the limits of respect for the opponent and the spectators. There are times when he is very pleasant in the dressing room, it is a lot of fun. Federer at the beginning also broke rackets, but he has evolved and today he is one of the greatest examples on and off the court. It is important to keep your feet on the ground, to have people who tell you that you are wrong." Del Potro's injury lingered into the 2019 season, forcing him to withdraw from the Australian Open. He made his comeback at Delray Beach Open where he reached the quarterfinals, losing to Mackenzie McDonald in three sets. Still not having recovered from injury, Del Potro was unable to defend his titles in Acapulco and Indian Wells, eventually withdrawing from both the tournaments. Playing in his first tournament back at the Mutua Madrid Open, del Potro lost his first match to Laslo Đere. He then played in Rome and secured wins against David Goffin, who had a 3-1 lead in their H2H record before the match, and Casper Ruud. He then squandered 2 match points in a second set tiebreaker to ultimately lose his QF against world number 1 Novak Djokovic in 3 sets played over 3 hours. In his first grass tournament of the season, the Queen's Club Championship, del Potro suffered another career-threatening injury when he fractured his kneecap in his first round match against Denis Shapovalov.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3exs5tA