Del Potro ready for Melbourne despite Auckland loss

It will be a different Juan Martin del Potro that takes to Centre Court on Wednesday to the one that defeated Sam Querrey in the final in Auckland nine years ago.

The Argentinian only dropped one set when he triumphed in New Zealand in 2009 and while he'll once again be the player most people will come to watch, everything has changed about him.

Losing two years of his career with two separate wrist injuries has altered the way he feels about tennis and also how he plays.

"My game now, I'm playing the slices, I'm playing a different game to a few years ago," Del Potro said on MondayAlso, I have treatment for two to three hours a day every time. That's what I have to do if I want to keep playing tennis.

"But I'm happy with that and I'm dealing with all these treatments. I still want to improve.

"I have a new career after all my problems," he added.

"I'm enjoying my tennis even more than years ago, but I still have goals to reach and I'm working for that

The 29-year-old Del Potro has the burning desire to win another grand slam, but he also wants to savour being a tennis player.

He played just six tournaments over 2014 and 2015 and even recently has had problems with his wrist and hips.

But he says he's in good shape and considering all the top players who will miss the Australian Open, or come into it under an injury cloud, Del Potro has to be considered as one of the contenders for the title.

"I'm working for that," he said. 

"I was close last year in the US Open, beating Roger [Federer] and then Rafa [Nadal] had a great tournament.

"But you never know… if my body feels strong enough to play with these guys, I will have a chance to compete at that level.

"The most exciting part of my life is trying to win another big event."

Coming back after almost two years out of the game required Del Potro to dig deep, to have the motivation to keep getting up after every setback.

"I did all the effort because I love tennis and I wanted to keep playing this sport," he said.

"My parents taught me when I was young to make sacrifices to get what I want and I'm doing that with my sport.

"But in my real life, I'm the same person and I know one day the tennis life ends and you start another life."

Del Potro comes into the Classic ranked 11th in the world and a good week in Auckland will put him back into the top 10 for the first time since August 2014. In February 2016, he was ranked 1045.

So this week could mark another significant achievement in his comeback.

"I can't believe my ranking now," he said. 

"But I'm not playing for a number, I don't care if I'm top 10 or top 30.

"I would like to play this tournament and enjoy the atmosphere with the fans.

"When it comes to Melbourne, just to be there will be great for me and I know the people admire what I did to come back and play tennis again.

"I'm showing all may effort to be here and I think that's good for them and good for me too

Source: AFP