Juan Martin Del Potro: an emotional farewell to the Argentinian sensation

Juan Martin Del Potro collapsed on the tennis court whilst serving at 3-5 down in the second set, in what seems to be his final match.

After bowing out of his home tournament at the Argentina Open, Del Potro has decided to call it a day on his 17-year tennis career. In the first round, he was eliminated 6-1, 6-3 by countryman Federico Delbonis.

Before serving at 3-5 in the second set, Juan Martin Del Potro was overwhelmed with emotion. As he proceeded to go into the way to serve, he started crying. Meanwhile, the crowd cheered 'Ole Delpo,' indicating their admiration for him. Del Potro placed his bandana on the centre of the net upon losing the match.

In his interview after the match, Del Potro exclaimed emotionally, "It's difficult to explain how I felt on the court. So many emotions. The atmosphere was crazy, the people were crazy. I had one of my best ever matches in my career with the crowd."

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'The Tower of Tandil' went on to give a message to his fans by stating, "I don't know if it's going to happen because the pain in my knee is very high. But I will keep doing a big effort to fix the knee, and if I get that, maybe I will have another chance to play." However, considering his words, it is visible that he may be saying farewell to the game.

His career in a Nut-shell

Del Potro, one of the game's most ferocious hitters, has battled injuries after conquering the US Open in 2009. He won his maiden and only Grand Slam championship in the 2009 US Open, where he was seeded sixth. He upset Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals and Roger Federer in the final. The Argentine interrupted The Swiss Maestro's five-year dynasty in New York by defeating him in a five-set final. In 2018, he made it to the final of the US Open but lost to Novak Djokovic. Del Potro has 22 tour-level championships to his name, the latest of which was the 2018 BNP Paribas Open. Nicknamed as the 'Tower of Tandil' after his city, he obtained a career-high ATP Ranking of World No. 3 in 2018.

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Looking at such performances, it is of course impossible not to wonder how much more he could have accomplished if he hadn't sustained so many injuries. However, rather than pondering such questions, we should be appreciative for the moments we did get to witness him at his finest, for there are few more spectacular spectacles on a tennis court. As Rafael Nadal once said, "Enduring means accepting. Accepting things as they are and not as you would wish them to be, and then looking ahead, not behind."