Del Potro to face Djokovic in final

NEW YORK — It was in 2015, the year of his fourth wrist operation, that Juan Martin del Potro was pretty sure he’d had enough.

Enough of the risks of surgery. Enough of working his way back only to get injured yet again. Enough, really, of tennis.

By then, so much time had passed since his crowning achievement, winning the 2009 U.S. Open at age 20 by beating Roger Federer in five sets in the final. So much of that time had felt wasted. And del Potro was in a dark place.

As he prepares to play in his first Grand Slam final since that one nearly a decade ago, meeting 13-time major champion Novak Djokovic for the championship at Flushing Meadows today, del Potro seems at ease talking about it all.

“I couldn’t find a way to fix my wrist problems. I [was] suffering a lot. I got depressed for a couple of months, also. I didn’t get the chance to feel better with myself, to do this again. That was the bad moment for me,” said the 6-foot-6Argentine with the 100 mph forehand and 135 mph serves. “But I think that is completely in the past. And now I’m having a good present, looking forward for the future.”

“Everything,” he added with a smile, “is almost perfect.”

Now ranked a career- high No. 3, del Potro would establish a professional-era record for most major appearances from a first to a second such title, 22, if he wins today.

It was shortly after that triumph nine years ago in New York that del Potro’s surgery on his dominant right wrist happened. That was followed by three procedures on his left wrist, which sidelined him for 2{ years’ worth of Grand Slam tournaments.

When he returned, he had to rebuild his backhand, first by relying solely on a slice, and only recently able to strike meaningful twohanded shots with confidence.

“I’ve been fighting with many, many problems to get [to] this moment. I’m here now,” he said after advancing when defending champion Rafael Nadal quit after two sets in their semifinal because of right knee tendinitis.

Djokovic can relate to the climb back from a body breakdown.

For the better part of two years, he dealt with pain in his right elbow. Djokovic shut himself down for the last half of 2017, sitting out the U.S. Open among other events and, after a brief attempt to play at the start of this season, had an operation in February.

Now he is one win from a second consecutive Grand Slam title, after his triumph at Wimbledon in July.

“It absolutely gives me empathy. Even before I went through the whole process of surgery, postsurgery recovery, I was still feeling for players that went through injuries,” Djokovic said.

Djokovic is 14-4 against del Potro.

del Potro