Del Potro Honoured As 2016 Comeback Player Of The Year

For the second time, players voted Juan Martin del Potro as the Comeback Player of the Year in the ATP World Tour Award presented by Moët & Chandon following a successful return from wrist injury. The 28-year-old Argentine is the third player after Sergi Bruguera and Tommy Haas to win this category twice.

He sent a video message from his native Tandil to accept his award during Thursday night’s ceremony at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals Official Launch in London.

“Thank you very much for this award… I want to thank my fellow players for choosing me,” he said. “It was a very special year to me. I didn’t expect the result that I had, and I’m so happy to share this award with you.”

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Del Potro was previously voted by his peers as the Comeback Player of the Year in 2011. He finished back in the Top 10 in 2013, only to be sidelined again – this time by a left wrist injury requiring multiple surgeries. Outside the Top 1000 of the Emirates ATP Rankings early in 2016, del Potro made his return in February with a semi-final effort at the Delray Beach Open and rose to No. 38 by November with a 30-match win effort.

Among his season highlights, del Potro beat then-No. 1 Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal en route to a silver medal at the Rio Olympics, made the quarter-finals of the US Open and won his first tour-level title since 2014 at the If Stockholm Open, securing his return to the Top 50. Julien Benneteau, Ivo Karlovic and Florian Mayer were also nominated in this category.