Juan Martin del Potro’s career was largely dominated by injury issues.
Del Potro is a former world number three and won 22 titles in his career, including the US Open in 2009 and Indian Wells in 2018.
However, the Argentinian spent many months on the sidelines with injuries, as Del Potro underwent a total of eight surgeries in his playing career.
These injuries eventually forced Del Potro to play his last ATP match in 2022, and Rafael Nadal’s uncle and former coach, Toni Nadal, has given his verdict on his career and compared it to Andy Murray’s.
Toni Nadal claims Juan Martin del Potro ‘would have been up there’ with Andy Murray
Toni Nadal was in Rafael Nadal’s players’ box for all but four of his 17 matches against Del Potro.
Del Potro beat his nephew in five of the 13 matches he was present for, including in the semi-finals of both the 2009 US Open and the Rio Olympics in 2016, and Toni Nadal was full of praise when discussing the Argentinian’s career with ESPN.
Toni Nadal also claimed that without injuries Del Potro would have had a comparable career to three-time Grand Slam champion Murray.
“I always saw him [as] incredibly good,” said Toni Nadal. “We knew that when he was at his best, he could trouble anyone. Injuries made him lose confidence.
“I have talked about this with Rafa many times; I believe that if he hadn’t had so many injuries, he would have been up there like Murray.
“He was one of those players who made you depend on him, not so much on how Rafa was doing, just like how I felt with Roger [Federer], Novak [Djokovic], and Andy.”
Who is the greatest player to have only won one Grand Slam title?
So many to choose from…
Juan Martin del Potro vs Andy Murray Head-to-Head
Del Potro and Murray spent a lot of time on court together, playing each other a total of 10 times.
Murray won seven of the 10 matches he played against Del Potro, perhaps most notably in a thrilling final at the 2016 Rio Olympics to defend his title.
The last match that Murray and Del Potro played was at Roland Garros in 2017, where the Briton won in straight sets.
| Year | Tournament | Result |
| 2008 | Italian Open (R64) | Murray beat Del Potro, 5-7 6-4 1-0 (Del Potro retired) |
| 2008 | US Open (QF) | Murray beat Del Potro, 7-6(2) 7-6(1) 4-6 7-5 |
| 2009 | Miami Open (SF) | Murray beat Del Potro, 6-1 5-7 6-2 |
| 2009 | Madrid Open (QF) | Del Potro beat Murray, 7-6(4) 6-3 |
| 2009 | Canadian Open (F) | Murray beat Del Potro, 6(4)-7 7-6(3) 6-1 |
| 2009 | ATP Finals (RR) | Murray beat Del Potro, 6-3 3-6 6-2 |
| 2013 | Indian Wells (QF) | Del Potro beat Murray, 6(5)-7 6-3 6-1 |
| 2016 | Rio Olympics (F) | Murray beat Del Potro, 7-5 4-6 6-2 7-5 |
| 2016 | Davis Cup (SF) | Del Potro beat Murray, 6-4 5-7 6(5)-7 6-3 6-4 |
| 2017 | Roland Garros (R32) | Murray beat Del Potro, 7-6(8) 7-5 6-0 |
Del Potro was undoubtedly plagued by a string of unfortunate injuries and was never able to reach his true potential.
However, he did struggle in his matches against all of ‘The Big Three’ and Murray, with Del Potro winning just 20 of his 72 combined matches against them.
