Del Potro To Miss 2019 Australian Open
Del Potro To Miss 2019 Australian Open
Juan Martin del Potro will miss the season’s first Grand Slam because he’s still recovering from a fractured patella suffered in October.
The World No. 5 is coming off one of his best seasons and was expected to contend for the Australian Open title. Last year, he matched his personal year-end best ATP Ranking, beat Roger Federer to win his first ATP Masters 1000 title (Indian Wells), made his second Grand Slam final (US Open) and qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals.
But the 30-year-old Argentine didn’t play again after falling on his right knee at the Rolex Shanghai Masters. Del Potro retired from his third-round match against Borna Coric at the ATP Masters 1000 event.
Del Potro wrote on Twitter, “Recovery is going great and I will tell you later where I will be making my comeback. Unfortunately it won’t happen in Australia, I’ll miss you Australian Open, but I’m happy with my progress.”
I hope you have a great 2019. Recovery is going great and I will tell you later where I will be making my comeback. Unfortunately it won’t happen in Australia, I’ll miss you @AustralianOpen, but I’m happy with my progress ☺️
Happy New Year! Enjoy! ??
— Juan M. del Potro (@delpotrojuan) 31 de diciembre de 2018
Del Potro reached the third round of the Australian Open last year, the first time he had played in Melbourne since 2014. Wrist injuries forced him to miss the tournament from 2015-2016, and he opted for a longer off-season before starting the 2017 season at the Delray Beach Open.