The New Year kicked off with some tragic news as it was announced that Daniel del Potro, the father of former World No.3 Juan Martin del Potro, passed away on Monday at the age of 63.
Del Potro senior underwent a heart operation in mid-December 2020 and his health had deteriorated ever since. A reclusive figure, he had accompanied Juan Martin across Argentina during his junior days as the young man tried to find his footing on the hectic ATP Tour.
Taking to social media, Juan Martin posted an emotional letter he had written for his father and shared it with fans on Tuesday.
“You’ve left us here with a broken heart, but we know that you are resting in peace like you deserve," the 2009 US Open champion wrote. "Now you have joined your other angel, and I ask that you please watch over my mom, my sister and me from above.
"You are our true and only champion. Thank you for raising me with values, with honesty, with sacrifice and for doing the impossible for me to be able to achieve my dream of being a tennis player. I don’t know how I’ll live without your presence, but I’ll definitely apply everything that you taught me to never give up. I love you pa!!”
We at TennisUpToDate offer our condolences to Juan Martin, as commiserations have poured in from fans and fellow players all over the world.
Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.
As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.
With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.
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