By Alberto Amalfi | Friday February 4, 2022
Days before his scheduled comeback, Juan Martin del Potro is finding his groove hitting on center court in Buenos Aires.
The 2009 US Open champion was not wearing any brace on his surgically-repaired knee though he sported black kinesiology tape snaking over his right kneecap as he worked through a ful practice session.
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The Tower of Tandil's long-awaited return has sent a buzz building around Buenos Aires.
Del Potro is set to play his first ATP match since 2019 before home fans at next week's Argentina Open on the red clay of Buenos Aires.
"How nice it will be to see them," the man Argentinean fans call Humble Warrior posted on Instagram.
The 33-year-old del Potro has undergone four knee surgeries and several setbacks in his quest to return to the pro circuit. Del Potro has not played since suffering a fractured patella that forced him to retire from Queen's Club on June 17th, 2019.
More recently, Argentinean media has reported del Potro suffered multi-million dollar losses due to financial decisions reportedly made by his beloved father the late Daniel del Potro.
Del Potro has been hitting with Diego Schwartzman, the 2021 Buenos Aires champion. Del Potro's former Davis Cup teammate, David Nalbandian, is also on site. Nalbandian was on court working with Miomir Kecmanovic.
Nalbandian also spent some time with Fabio Fognini at the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club in a reunion of two of tennis' true creative forces.
Photo credit: @ArgentinaOpen