Wimbledon: Del Potro in front of Wimbledon: “This time it just got me”

Juan Martin del Potro spoke in an interview in the run-up to Wimbledon 2018 about the special setting of the turf classic. The Argentinean also spoke about the travel stress as a tennis pro and Andy Murray’s comeback.

The Wimbledon organizers have rewarded Marin Cilic with her special formula for the masters’ settlement. The Croatian – currently the world’s number five – may enter the tournament as a third seeded player.

This was made possible by the good results of the US Open Champion on grass over the past twelve months, with the clear highlight of last year’s final at Wimbledon.

Del Potro thus dropped out of the top four and can already meet one of the top quartet in the quarter-finals. Despite the disadvantage, the 29-year-old considers the step to be the right one. “Marin deserves it, he’s a great player on grass,” Del Potro told the BBC. “This time it just hit me, I’m okay with the move. If I want to be in the top four, I have to play better.”

After the French Open, where he failed Rafael Nadal in the semi-final, Del Potro took a break. He renounced any preparation tournaments, withdrew his nomination for Queen’s and flew to his homeland to relax there.

“As an Argentinean, you have to travel so much,” Del Potro explained. “Those are always long flights, no matter where you play. Then it often happens that you are not at home for six weeks, far away from the people that are important to you. That’s probably the hardest part of our sport.”

Del Potro suffered severe setbacks on his own body when he was repeatedly thrown back by persistent problems on his wrist. Through this painful period of suffering, Tandil’s tower has compassion for Andy Murray, who is on his way back after hip treatments.

“Such injuries to the wrist, shoulder or hip – that’s probably the worst thing for this sport,” said DelPo. “We’re all happy that he’s back on the court. He’ll know when it’s time to play again.”