Juan Martin del Potro targets Tokyo Olympics after fourth knee operation

Juan Martin del Potro said Monday he will undergo a fourth operation on his right knee in a bid to be fit for the Olympic Games tennis tournament in Tokyo.

The 32-year-old Argentine star, winner of 22 ATP titles including the 2009 US Open championship, has not played since June 2019 after fracturing his kneecap at the Queen’s Club Championships in London.

Del Potro, winner of a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics and silver four years later in Rio, said in a statement on social media that he would undergo surgery in Chicago on Tuesday.

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“I’ve been consulting Dr. Jorge Chahla and the news is that tomorrow I’ll undergo another surgery on my knee,” del Potro wrote.

“We’ve tried conservative therapy but the pain is still there. (Dr Chahla) knows I want to play tennis again and be able to play the Olympics, so we agreed that surgery should be done as soon as possible.

“I hope I can overcome this painful situation. I won’t stop trying.”

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Del Potro has undergone three operations to his knee since his injury at Queen’s, in June 2019, January 2020 and August 2020.

The Olympics, which were postponed for one year after the pandemic, get under way in Tokyo on July 23.