Front242 said:
Very much doubt Murray is getting any back surgery and as for Nadal if you don't think his results since his comeback are impressive I dunno what more to say. You know the irony, you're saying it'll get worse for Nadal after clay. Well, hardcourt is what he hates the most and guess what, he won the first hardcourt tournament he played in over a year so I think it's safe to say it's not half as bad as you or many others are making out. Andy's missing his weakest slam. A good move towards recovery but I see no reason why he won't be back to 100% for Queens and Wimbledon and that of course is why he pulled out of RG. He was practicing straight away after withdrawing so I find it pretty unlikely he's gonna be having any surgery.
For every shot Del Potro hits it aggravates his wrist and seeing as he now also has a sore left wrist it affects his BH as well as FH. I'd say that's a way worse scenario than back pain that most definitely will go away and will not be operated on. Yes the fever forced Del Potro out 'cos he couldn't train properly. The discussion here though wasn't about a fever but the more worrying wrist injuries he's sustained naturally enough. Fed and many others play with mild back pain and even he took a break to heal his back and it's fine now so why you've no faith in Murray's recovery I've no idea. Neither of them needed surgery. Del Potro did and was out almost a year and hasn't been the same since. He's now got a sore left wrist that hampers him even more. I'd say that 100% definitely makes him in a worse position than Nadal or Murray right now and in terms of how their respective careers will pan out. You can play tennis with a bit of pain that means your movement isn't 100% but how are you supposed to play when your wrists are both dodgy? Looking at the big picture Del Potro is most definitely in a worse state in terms of how his wrists will affect his career at this stage.
Not sure why JLLB is making an issue out of this, but I think you're right. Murray's back problem hopefully just requires rest, and this was the best time for him. His other problem, the congenital problem with the knee, seems to be holding up fine. And, while I do believe that Rafa's knee issues are chronic and problematic, he seems to be working around them quite nicely, for now.
It IS Del Potro's physical woes that have been most impactful on the sport. The guy had a Slam, in a time when they were not being given out wholesale, and a shot at the big 4. He got injured and hasn't really been the same since. I would say he is the most significant loss to injury in the ATP of the last 5-ish years.
