Roger Federer gives comeback advice to Juan Martin del Potro
Roger Federer's comeback is over for the time being. However, on the sidelines of the ATP 250 event, the Swiss gave advice to another man who is working hard on a return to the ATP tour: the Argentine Juan Martin del Potro .
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit:
Mar 14, 2021, 07:22 pm
The tennis world looked to Doha with great excitement in the middle of this week. To a tranquil ATP 250 event in the capital of Qatar, which none other than Roger Federer had chosen as the place for his return to the ATP tour. A return that unearthed both positives and negatives. Yes, the 20-time Grand Slam winner can still play great tennis. But no, at this point in time, the 39-year-old is not able to consistently keep this level on the pitch for a tournament.
#VIDEO#
Nevertheless: The Federer case shows that the return to the circus of the best tennis players in the world is quite possible. Regardless of the age of the returnees. The Federer case will probably give confidence to a man in South America too. The giant Juan Martin del Potro, who has not been able to play a competition game since June 2019.
Federer "wants" del Potros to return
"Of course I want Juan Martin to come back on the tour like I have now. But the thing is, when you've been at our level, you want to come back and feel like you can give more." , also directed Roger Federer on the edge of his comeback in the direction of the Argentine. "I hope for him that he finds that sooner rather than later, but if it takes a month, two months, three months, however long, I just wish he would come back and then he would be finally healthy forever ", said the Swiss.
And Federer, himself tried and tested to return to a great level after injuries, has a piece of advice for his long-time rival: "So he has to be very clever when he comes back to the tour, when he does it and how he does it. And the problem with matches is that you go out there and play in front of people. You can't withdraw, really, " Ubitennis.com quoted the world number six.
In addition, it is extremely important to differentiate between training and competition situations before you dare to take the final step of a playful return: "In training you can wake up and think: 'Oh, today we may only do an hour or we can do an hour of fitness and an hour of tennis because I know I can control it. "But in a match you have no control, so you have to think twice about how to get back on the tour."
Juan Martin del Potro himself had recently emphasized that he was not yet ready to draw a line under his active career. "I feel that there is still something inside of me, so I keep fighting. I want to end my career when it's right for me and not because of my health."