The former number 3 in the world himself had said in the preview that he could not get a better rival to star in this momentous match. Avatars of destiny, both maintain a great relationship both on the circuit and outside of it.
“Playing with him is going to be special. I would have come to the game just the same. My role is going to be different from what I was thinking, but in some way I am going to be just another spectator. I hope that the public will play an important role and that they can fully enjoy it”Delbonis analyzes.
On Tuesday, not before 8 pm, he will live a conjunctural moment. As the popular tradition dictates, he will remain between a rock and a hard place: either he propitiates, perhaps, Del Potro’s final act or gives him one more life in this return with the aroma of farewell.
“I’m trying to read line by line and I don’t want to read that it’s his last game”, the current 42 of the ATP ranking is sincere. He is so excited that he resorts to a concrete example of an almost finished career and that he still writes chapters: “I have a little hope left, as Andy Murray was in his time because of the hip. I want that on Tuesday, whatever the result, that there is Juan Martín for a while and that he can get up the next day without pain ”.
Delbonis and del Potro forged a friendship beyond sports. There will be an unforgettable photo for both -and for all Argentine tennis- that has them as a symbol of the debt paid: the hug they gave each other, crying through, after winning the Davis Cup in cold Zagreb in which both won their points on Sunday November 27, 2016.
When the man from Tandil announced that this tournament “more than a return is a farewell”, he broke down especially when talking about his rival on Tuesday. “I think he’s genuine,” agrees Delbonis, also affected by his debut at the Argentina Open. “I don’t wish what he is experiencing on my worst enemy. Imagine a person I love. That struggle that he is living day by day speaks for itself. Tuesday is going to be a nice show for people to enjoy what is the fight, perseverance and love for the sport “tells Ambit.
The champion of São Paulo 2014 and Marrakech 2016 is aware that it will be a game of tensions and emotions. On one side of the court, the doubts for a final attempt to be filled with satisfaction in tennis; on the other, the unknowns about how long his rival will resist and the psychological handling that they entail. “I have to go through the tension myself, I don’t rule out everything that is going to be talked about, but we have to put all that aside and be aware of what we propose for the game,” reflects the man from Azul.
However, Delbonis is clear that Del Potro is far from his best version and that will affect the man from Tandil more: “Unfortunately he is going to be the one who has to handle those sensations within his desire to return and to see how to hurt me. It is clear that he is in pain and he is going to have to put it aside to focus on the game ”.
Both met in a single opportunity. In Indian Wells 2017, the “Tandil Tower” won 7-6 (5) and 6-3 for the second round. She was a very different version of the 2019 US Open champion, after a -another- triumphant return that included the silver medal in Rio 2016.
The message that “Delpo” gave on Saturday afternoon, in the preview of the Argentina Open, shocked everyone. The one from Azul recognizes the “shock” that it caused him, but at the same time he senses that these last games will not be just a goodbye: “I know that deep inside him, he comes back because he knows he has something more to give”.
“I am not going to find the best reaction from Juan Martín, but that flame that he has been feeding, on Tuesday is going to make him do things that he did not think he could do. I have to keep an eye on that, ”he launches at the end.
On Tuesday the Argentina Open will live one of those nights that are usually marked by fire in the collective memory. It will not only be Del Potro’s possible last game, but he will also be imbued with enormous emotion at the meeting of two friends, two heroes of Zagreb. Almost as if it were the end of an epic documentary.
Source: Ambito
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