Delpo to pack in his career after years of injury agony

Former US Open winner Juan Martin del Potro will finally pack it in on his hard-luck career at the weekend with a concluding exhibition match against Novak Djokovic at home in Argentina.

The 36-year-old who upset Roger Federer for the 2009 title in New York, last played a Tour match in 2022 after seriously injuring his problem knee at Queen’s.

Delpo says life now is a misery with “seven pills a day” as part of his “never-ending nightmare”. The Argentine has undergone eight operations – mainly without positive results.

His social media post explained: “The day after I played my last match against (Federico) Delbonis, I took a flight to Switzerland and I had my fifth knee surgery.

“Since then, I’ve never made my surgeries public again; people stopped asking me constantly when I would come back and play again.

“I spent two months in Switzerland, in a village close to Basel trying to rehabilitate and it didn’t work.

“After two and a half months I had my sixth surgery. I went back to the USA. More rehab, over 100 injections everywhere. Infiltrations… daily suffering. It’s been my life since that match vs Federico.”

Delpo’s troubles began in Shanghai, 2018 when he fractured his right kneecap.

“When I had my first surgery in June, the doctor told me I would play in three months. I even signed in for three indoor tournaments at the end of the year.”

Now, years after leaving his career, daily life remains a struggle. “I can’t play football, I can’t play padel. It’s terrible. They took me the chance to do what I loved the most, which was to play tennis.

“There are moments where I have no more strength. I’m not indestructible. I have good things, bad things but most of the times I have to fake it and put on a good face, but many times I feel terrible.

“Every day when I wake up I have to take six or seven pills. Gastric protectors, anti-inflammatories, one for anxiety. Then the pils made me gain weight so they told me to stop eating some things.”