05/05/2011 19:41 CEST - INTERVIEWS

Del Potro (5.5.2011)

ATP: Unfortunately I have to announce that Juan Martín won´t be able to play against Rafa Nadal tonight because of a hip injury. He has had to withdraw from the Mutua Madrid Open so he is here to answer a few questions.
J.M. Del Potro: A: Well as Nicola said I am not in a condition to play today. I woke up with a lot of pain and I talked with the doctor and did a test to see how I was feeling. I just think that I’m not in a good condition to play and I’m sorry for the tournament, for the people, for Rafa. It was going to be a nice match to play but I’ve got some experience with injuries and I don’t want to risk too much so I’m going to follow what the doctor ordered and I’m not going to show up.

Q: When did this start and how is the pain on the hip?
A: The pain started last week in Estoril between the semi-final and final and it’s getting worse day by day and I really feel too much pain today so that’s my reason for not playing.

Q: I’m sure that you like us were really looking forward to your match with Rafa; how much of a setback is this for you and do you expect to be fit for Roland Garros?
A: I expect to be fine as soon as I can. Of course for me it would have been a nice match to play today but unfortunately I can’t play. Hopefully I will be ready soon for my next tournament.

Q: What of the doctors actually said to you?
A: That I’m not fit to play tonight, that it could be dangerous if I go on court tonight and I repeat that I have experience with injury so I took the decision not to play.

Q: How is the pain? How can you feel it and from now on what treatment has the doctors ordered? Is there any way the pain can be eased?
A: It’s really an uncomfortable pain that I’m feeling all the time. When I´m warm or have treatments its okay and I’ve already had some examinations here with the doctors, I’ve been checking myself, taken some pills. Now, I´ll probably go to Argentina and finish the tests there and I hope to have a really good treatment and I’ll be quick to get back playing at this level and to be able to continue my schedule.

Q: Is this a new injury or is it one that you’ve had before?
A: No, as I said it’s something that I started to feel in Estoril last week that I had never felt that pain before. It may have been, I hope it is due to the amount of time that I spent without playing on clay. I played several matches on clay and… I would like to be back as soon as possible and get back fit as soon as possible.

Q: Just to be clear, you are going home to Argentina now so do we conclude that you’re not going to Rome?
A: No, I’m not going to play Rome. I don’t know if I’ll be in Nice or the French Open.

Q: So this means that you will ask for a wild card for Nice?
A: I hope not, I want to play as soon as I can and it would be a very nice match for me to play today. I really feel sad for that. It’s a nice tournament, nice people here, nice fans but I can’t. Hopefully I will be ready to play Nice and the French Open and everything but my leg comes first and I want to be in good health.

Q: I wanted to ask you that after such a long lay-off with injury, is there will this affect you mentally more than normal or do you tolerate these things in these tournaments?
A: It’s not nice to pull out of this tournament and today’s match. I would have really liked it, I was really looking forward to it but I’m not in a fit shape. As I said, I was off the circuit for a year due to injury and I’ve played two matches and now I experience this. So I know what can happen in the worst case, talking with the doctors and listening to what they told me I’ve decided not to play.

Q: So what you are saying is the because of what happened to you before you would have played today?
A: No I don´t think so. The pain I have is very strong and I think that you have to put health in front of anything. It´s the most important thing.

Q: I would like to know if you felt something strange today because apparently the feeling was good?
A: As I´m saying this has been coming since Estoril and it hasn’t been getting better. It was in the first moment of the first set that I felt some pain and I tried to continue playing but when the match finished and I cooled now I started to relax and I started to feel the pain and this morning I tried to wake up and have a normal day and I tried but I had more pain than expected and I was not in a condition to play