Medical tests have revealed that World No. 4 Juan Martin del Potro suffered a fracture of his right patella bone at the Rolex Shanghai Masters.

“It’s a very difficult moment,” said Del Potro, who is wearing a split on his right leg. “I feel very sad. It’s a hard blow that leaves me without strength. It’s very difficult for me to think about recovery again, I did not expect this to happen.”

The 30-year-old was coming off back-to-back final appearances at the US Open and China Open, when he suffered the injury at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 stop in Shanghai. After defeating Richard Gasquet, he would retire from his Round of 16 encounter against Borna Coric after dropping the opening set. 

Del Potro, who is in the midst of arguably his greatest campaign on the ATP World Tour, is up to third in the ATP Race To London and has already secured his return to The O2 for the Nitto ATP Finals. The extent of the injury is unknown and his doctors will evaluate the recovery process in the coming days.

At this rate, it won’t be long before Felix Auger-Aliassime’s highly-anticipated Top 100 debut becomes a reality. On Saturday, the Canadian teen inched closer to the century mark with his fourth ATP Challenger Tour title, prevailing on the hard courts of Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Auger-Aliassime was on the attack from the first ball to last, dropping just two sets to lift the trophy as a qualifier. He won eight matches in eight days, capped by a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Kamil Majchrzak in the championship. The Montreal native provided plenty of fireworks throughout the week, edging Alexey Vatutin in a deciding tie-break in the second round, followed by an upset win over home favourite and two-time champion Denis Istomin.

“It feels really good,” said Auger-Aliassime. “I forgot to sign in the tournament, so I had to play qualies. I told myself that I knew I had the level and I’ve won these tournaments before. It’s just about taking it one match at a time. I believed in myself and as the tournament was going on, I played better and better and got more confidence. Overall, it was a great week in Tashkent.”

Sealed with a second serve ace. Felix Auger-Aliassime is the champion in Tashkent!

Fourth #ATPChallenger title for @felixtennis, claiming 8⃣ wins in 8⃣ days as a qualifier pic.twitter.com/hGzfMN3tCw

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) October 13, 2018

With the victory, Auger-Aliassime rises 19 spots to a projected career-high of No. 109 in the ATP Rankings. On the precipice of dethroning countryman Denis Shapovalov as the ATP Star of Tomorrow – awarded to the youngest player in the year-end Top 100 – the Canadian will look to make further progress at next week’s European Open in Antwerp. He will play his ninth match in nine days in Sunday’s qualifying opener at the ATP World Tour 250 event.

Moreover, Auger-Aliassime joins elite company with his victory, adding his name to a superstar cast of players who have captured at least four titles at the age of 18 and under. The 18-year-old accompanies Richard Gasquet (7), Tomas Berdych (5), Hyeon Chung (4), Mario Ancic (4) and Guillermo Coria (4) in the exclusive club.

Most Challenger Titles – Age 18 & Under

“I handled myself well on court,” Auger-Aliassime added. “There’s no words to explain my week in Tashkent, but I just played great matches from the first day in the main draw. I had a couple good matches in qualies and it got me ready. As the tournament was going on, I was feeling much better to play my best level in the final.

“[In the final] I think I served really well. From the first game to the last, I had high-percentage and precise serves. I was also pretty good from the baseline and I imposed my game. I had a good tempo and was being pretty aggressive until the end, so it paid off.”

Teens With Multiple Titles In The Same Season (since 2014)