Del Potro hurts wrist after fall
Juan Martin del Potro’s bruised left wrist was placed in a splint after a nasty fall while winning his quarterfinal at the Shanghai Masters on Friday.
Del Potro is due to play Roger Federer in the semifinals on Saturday. The other semifinal features top-ranked Rafael Nadal against Marin Cilic.
Del Potro tumbled on the court at 2-2 in the third set against Viktor Troicki of Serbia and instinctively tried to break the fall with his left wrist. Del Potro, who has under- gone surgery on both wrists, conferred with a trainer as he repeatedly shook his wrist.
Del Potro ended up breaking Troicki’s serve in that fifth game and prevailed 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.
“I don’t know how my wrist is after I fell down,” del Potro said before leaving for a local hospital. “I felt something wrong in that moment, but I continued to play, just playing (backhand) slices just to finish the match. I’m going to the hospital to see what the MRI says, and what the doctor says.
“Then I will take a decision for tomorrow. I would like to play and be 100 percent.” Jorge Viale, del Potro’s agent, later tweeted that tests revealed a “wrist contusion” but “more serious problems were ruled out.” “The doctors put a splint to immobilize the wrist,” Viale added. “Tomorrow morning, Juan Martin will decide whether he plays the semifinal.” Del Potro beat Federer in the U.S. Open quarterfinals. Federer made another matchup by beating Richard Gasquet 7-5, 6-4.