Andy Murray’s heartfelt wish for Juan Martin del Potro: ‘He deserves to play a few more years’

Juan Martin del Potro disappointed

He knows a thing or two about overcoming serious injury and Andy Murray admits it must be “mentally challenging” for Juan Martin del Potro after yet another setback.

Del Potro has undergone a third operation on the right-knee cap he fractured at the 2018 Shanghai Masters, which effectively rules him out of for the remainder of the year.

Another setback for unfortunate Juan Martin del Potro as he undergoes a third knee operation

It is a big setback for the 2009 US Open champion who had previously undergone three big operations on his wrists between 2010 and 2015.

Murray, who made his Grand Slam singles comeback at the US Open this week following hip resurfacing surgery in January 2019, says he hopes the Argentine will bounce back from his latest injury.

“I was sad obviously when I heard that,” he said. “I was actually chatting to my team about maybe reaching out to him in the last couple of days.

“Because he’s been unbelievably unlucky during his career with multiple, multiple injuries. He keeps trying and keeps wanting to come back to play.

“During my career I would have been certainly healthier than him. But these last couple of years, I can totally understand what he’s going through. Just now, mentally it must be unbelievably challenging.

“Yeah, I hope that the surgery is a success for him. I hope he manages to get healthy again and back on the court.

“If he didn’t totally love tennis, there’s no chance he would have kept trying. He obviously loves the sport. It would be brilliant to see him get a few more years out of his body because he deserves that.”

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