By Chris Oddo | Tuesday, February 11, 2014

 

Despite a lingering problem with his left wrist, Juan Martin del Potro still has his sights set on joining the ATP's elite in the hunt for Slam titles.

Photo Source: AP

Juan Martin del Potro had to stop hitting tennis balls for twenty days after his 2nd-round loss to Roberto Bautista Agut in the Australian Open, but that hasn't stopped the 25-year-old from believing he can still take his place among the game's elite.

>>>Video: Fognini Pulls Down Shorts After Grueling Point in Vina del Mar

"Wawrinka took his chance and he got it,” the Argentine told James Buddell of ATPworldtour.com. “I want to again.”

Del Potro, who flew to Minnesota after the Australian Open to seek advice from specialist Dr. Richard Berger, admits that he still isn't at 100 percent ahead of Wednesday's first-round clash with Gael Monfils at the ABN Amro Open in Rotterdam, but the 2009 U.S. Open champion says he's improving and will be taking no risk in trying to defend his title.

“I did not play tennis or go to the gym,” Del Potro told Buddell. “As a result, I have lost muscle and definition in my left arm... But my doctor has given me the confidence to play here in Rotterdam and, as the defending champion I feel that it is the right decision.”

Del Potro was troubled by the left wrist last year, and he did seek advice from Berger at times during and up and down 2013 that saw him reach the Indian Wells final as well as the Wimbledon semifinals. But at times, the tall, powerful Del Potro was clearly troubled by the wrist. He lost a difficult five-setter to Lleyton Hewitt at the U.S. Open in which he hardly bothered to use his two-handed backhand. “If I hit my backhands without confidence, I resort to hitting slices or different strokes,” Del Potro told ATPworldtour.com. “That isn’t good enough to play at this level.”

In a piece penned by Marianne Bevis for The Sport Review, Del Potro spoke of playing in pain on many occasions in 2013.

“I’ve played many tournaments with this pain,” he said. “Last year at Indian Wells, Cincinnati, playing with a lot of slice… this year trying to find a different treatment, to play all season and fix the injury”

Del Potro, who also won titles in Basel, Washington, D.C and Tokyo in addition to his Rotterdam triumph, hopes that with continued therapeutic care supplementing his tennis workouts, he can rebuild the strength in his ailing wrist.

“I am having physio every single day,” he said. “[I] Warm up before practice and again do work with physio after practice. And everything is checked with my doctor, who’s talking with me every day.”