Juan Martín del Potro, the defending champion at the United States Open, withdrew from the tournament Saturday, saying he "cannot compete at the top level yet" after having surgery on his right wrist in May.
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He is the third men's champion at the United States Open not to defend his title in the 42-year Open era. His announcement came a day after Serena Williams became the first No. 1 in the 35-year history of the women's rankings to miss the Open. She is recovering from surgery for cuts on her right foot.
The 6-foot-6 del Potro has not played on tour since the Australian Open in January because of an injury to his racket-swinging wrist. Del Potro, a 21-year-old Argentine, had surgery in May, then recently began training in hopes of playing at Flushing Meadows, where he won his first major title a year ago by upsetting Rafael Nadal in the semifinals and Roger Federer in the final.
In a statement released by the ATP on Saturday, del Potro said he was "extremely sad" about pulling out of the Open, which starts Aug. 30.
"But I have only started practicing in the last two weeks, and unfortunately, I cannot compete at the top level yet," he said.
Since 1968, the only other men who did not defend their Open titles were Ken Rosewall in 1971 and Pete Sampras in 2003. Sampras retired after winning the 2002 Open in his final match as a professional.
Del Potro's right wrist has been a problem since last year; he retired in the second round of the Shanghai Masters in October because of tendinitis in the wrist. In January, he pulled out of an exhibition tournament just days before the start of the Australian Open, citing the wrist.
He lost in the fourth round at Melbourne and has not entered a tournament since. Del Potro is No. 9 in this week's rankings but will slide after the Open because he will lose the ATP points that came with his 2009 title.
Del Potro's return to the tour could come at the Thailand Open, an indoor tournament that begins Sept. 24 in Bangkok. Del Potro said in July that he planned to play in that event. In addition to del Potro and Williams, the Open will be without the two-time champion Justine Henin. Two others withdrew late Friday: No. 10-ranked Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Tommy Haas.
SOURCE: The Associated Press
