Sebastian Torok

Advantage Connors Podcast Loves, Feels For Juan Martin del Potro

December 18, 2024 by tennisbloggers Leave a Comment

Brett Connors, the son of tennis Hall of Famer and host of the “Advantage Connors” podcast recently spoke with his five-time U.S. Open champion father about Juan Martin del Potro’s farewell match in Argentina against Novak Djokovic. In setting up the conversation, Brett Connors spoke of his long-time respect and like for del Potro and the injuries that curtailed his career and continue to impact his life.

“Everyone knows Delpo is probably my favorite guy from the last 15 or 20 years in tennis and always rooted for him,” said Brett. “Wwe’ve talked about it before with his injuries. But he released a video a couple of weeks ago where he talks about his injuries and I always thought it was his wrist. His wrist was the one that gave him so much problems. He had to change his whole backhand…but he was saying that it was his knee. And he’s had something like six or seven or eight knee surgeries trying to fix it, trying to do that. And he’s had to pay a small fortune at all the different so-called extra surgeons and blah, blah, blah. And he was talking that he might have to get a prosthesis, and he’s a 35-year-old man.”

Del Potro’s trials, tribulations and triumphs are all documented in the book “Juan Martin del Potro: The Gentle Giant” by Sebastian Torok, for sale and download here: https://www.amazon.com/Juan-Martin-del-Potro-Gentle/dp/1937559920/ref=sr_1_1?crid=22V2UDTZA55OP&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.vDIXu4Zlbip_KmRR3WL5-hfKssky_QoXX4nKq5kpOW1JYystkAYdFmeAlYZB6bY2fMC0N5K3IrVeCVbgr29-gqsX9jNMt3zq48I4sgS7TeeRAss95150pt_Z3p8OCcBnVpzVazIziss6c2QUJ67YgwmfbXVx8YKMh2N2M_XbOrQvGYWr8ih2E1febNOl1UWIx3NDMNEaDlsA-AsFYrV96rMsUppK0hSAng7mcZaKk4E.Vg7pogjj-vUd-Bvzo-3zqlNlXXobX1o1yOBGbbUqqmU&dib_tag=se&keywords=juan+martin+del+potro&qid=1734484771&sprefix=%2Caps%2C164&sr=8-1

Brett Connors continued about del Potro’s video, “And so he did this leading up to this event where he invited Djokovic down to play in an exhibition with I think him and (Gabriela) Sabatini and maybe a couple other players. And as this farewell match and Djokovic showed up, he was there and it was a big event. It was a really big success. And I just thought that was crazy that he’s talking about that at 35 years old, like the surgeries and the people he can go to and has access to that somehow he’s ended up in this situation and it just kind of broke my heart.”

You can read what Jimmy Connors said about del Potro here: https://worldtennismagazine.com/archives/24224

Juan Martin del Potro Book “The Gentle Giant” Launches

February 17, 2020 by Randy Walker Leave a Comment

New Chapter Press, the world’s premier publisher of tennis books, today announced the launch of its latest book, “Juan Martin del Potro: The Gentle Giant” the “Juan Martin del Potro: The Gentle Giant,” the first English-language book on Argentine tennis great Juan Martin del Potro written by respected tennis writer Sebastian Torok.

“Juan Martin del Potro: The Gentle Giant” for sale and download here via amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1937559920/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_U_x_lRArEbY4VMWP3 tells the story of one of Argentina’s greatest tennis players and the most important of his generation. After winning the 2009 U.S. Open, defeating Roger Federer in a glorious five-set final, del Potro was poised to take over the tennis world. However, wrist problems developed and del Potro endured three surgeries over 15 months. One of the world’s most popular players, del Potro’s fan base grew as he made his comeback—watching him win his second Olympic medal in Rio in 2016, where he once lost to Andy Murray, but won the hearts of millions around the world. He followed up by leading Argentina to victory in the Davis Cup. Described as the “Gentle Giant,” del Potro has the sensitivity to comfort a ball girl hit during a match, to stop in the middle of the game to gaze at a butterfly, and to accompany a young fan in the last days of his life. However, when he grips the racket, he becomes one of the most destructive strikers of a tennis ball.

“This book is an unprecedented trip to the emotional and sporting aspect of one of the best tennis players of the last decade,” said Torok, the author of the book, an internationally regarded tennis writer for La Nacion and with ESPN in Argentina. “Juan Martin del Potro is someone who lived with tragedy since his childhood, a tennis player who hit bottom and had the strength to persevere multiple times. This book was created with more than 70 interviews of people who, in one way or another, had to do with the life of del Potro. I am very excited and proud that this book is now available in English around the world.”

The original version of the book was published in Spanish under the title “El Milagro Del Potro.” The English language book was translated by Luis Rossi of Argentina and Haley Hunt of Brookline, Mass.

Founded in 1987, New Chapter Press (www.NewChapterMedia.com) is also the publisher of “The Greatest Tennis Matches of All-Time” by Steve Flink, “The Education of a Tennis Player” by Rod Laver with Bud Collins, “The Secrets of Spanish Tennis” by Chris Lewit, “The Bud Collins History of Tennis” by Bud Collins, “The Pros: The Forgotten Era Of Tennis” by Peter Underwood, “The Wimbledon Final That Never Was” by Sidney Wood, “Titanic: The Tennis Story” by Lindsay Gibbs, “Macci Magic: Extracting Greatness From Yourself And Others” by Rick Macci with Jim Martz, “Andy Murray, Wimbledon Champion: The Full Extraordinary Story” by Mark Hodgkinson, “Cattle To Courts: A History of Tennis In Texas” by Ken McAllister, “Sport of a Lifetime: Enduring Personal Stories From Tennis” by Judy Aydelott, “Trojan Tennis: A History of the Storied Men’s Tennis Program at the University of Southern California” by S. Mark Young, “Absolute Tennis: The Best And Next Way To Play The Game” by Marty Smith, “How To Permanently Erase Negative Self Talk So You Can Be Extraordinary” by Emily Filloramo, “Acing Depression: A Tennis Champion’s Toughest Match” by Cliff Richey and Hilaire Richey Kallendorf, “Your Playbook For Beating Depression: Essential Strategies For Managing and Living with Depression” by Cliff Richey and Mary Garrison, “Roger Federer: Quest for Perfection” by Rene Stauffer, “The Days of Roger Federer” by Randy Walker, “Jan Kodes: A Journey To Glory From Behind The Iron Curtain” by Jan Kodes with Peter Kolar, “Tennis Made Easy” by Kelly Gunterman, “On This Day In Tennis History” by Randy Walker, “A Player’s Guide To USTA League Tennis” by Tony Serksnis, “Court Confidential: Inside The World Of Tennis” by Neil Harman, “A Backhanded Gift” by Marshall Jon Fisher, “Boycott: Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games” by Tom Caraccioli and Jerry Caraccioli (www.Boycott1980.com), “Internet Dating 101: It’s Complicated, But It Doesn’t Have To Be” by Laura Schreffler, “How To Sell Your Screenplay” by Carl Sautter, “Bone Appetit: Gourmet Cooking For Your Dog” by Suzan Anson, “The Rules of Neighborhood Poker According to Hoyle” by Stewart Wolpin among others.

"Juan Martin del Potro: The Gentle Giant" book — “Juan Martin del Potro: The Gentle Giant” book

Another Juan Martin del Potro Withdrawal

September 2, 2019 by tennisbloggers

Juan Martin del Potro, the 2009 U.S. Open champion from Argentina, was scheduled to have the first-ever English language biography on him entitled “The Gentle Giant” officially released at the 2019 U.S. Open. However, due to “injuries” in the translation of the book from Spanish to English, the book has “withdrawn” from the tournament and its original September 1, 2019 release date.

“Juan Martin del Potro: The Gentle Giant” was written by Sebastian Torok, a globally respected tennis writer from La Nacion newspaper in Argentina. The book tells the life story and rise to prominence of del Potro, also focusing on his inspiring comebacks from his many injuries, culminating in his winning the silver medal at the 2016 Olympic Games, leading Argentina to its first Davis Cup title in 2016 and reaching the final again at the 2018 U.S. Open. The injury narrative for del Potro, however, continued once again in 2019 after he a knee injury forced him to miss Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

“Like Juan Martin del Potro himself, the book will not have a presence at the 2019 U.S. Open,” said Randy Walker of New Chapter Media, the publisher of the book. “We are proud to publish this inspiring and informative biography of Juan Martin, which all sports fans will enjoy. The reality is that with Juan Martin’s absence from the tour and the U.S. Open, and a slight hiccup in the development process, we felt it best to delay the launch of the book to a more appropriate time in the not-to-distant future.”

Fans can pre-order the book on Amazon.com here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1937559920/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_U_x_IfvBDbTMABNJN

New Chapter Press (www.NewChapterMedia.com) is a global leader in tennis publishing founded in 1987. It is also the publisher of “The Greatest Tennis Matches of All-Time” by Steve Flink, “The Education of a Tennis Player” by Rod Laver with Bud Collins, “The Bud Collins History of Tennis” by Bud Collins, “The Wimbledon Final That Never Was” by Sidney Wood, “Titanic: The Tennis Story” by Lindsay Gibbs, “Macci Magic: Extracting Greatness From Yourself And Others” by Rick Macci with Jim Martz, “Andy Murray, Wimbledon Champion: The Full Extraordinary Story” by Mark Hodgkinson, “The Secrets of Spanish Tennis” by Chris Lewit, “Sport of a Lifetime: Enduring Personal Stories From Tennis” by Judy Aydelott, “Trojan Tennis: A History of the Storied Men’s Tennis Program at the University of Southern California” by S. Mark Young, “Absolute Tennis: The Best And Next Way To Play The Game” by Marty Smith, “Acing Depression: A Tennis Champion’s Toughest Match” by Cliff Richey and Hilaire Richey Kallendorf, “Your Playbook For Beating Depression: Essential Strategies For Managing and Living with Depression” by Cliff Richey and Mary Garrison, “Roger Federer: Quest for Perfection” by Rene Stauffer, “The Days of Roger Federer” by Randy Walker, “Jan Kodes: A Journey To Glory From Behind The Iron Curtain” by Jan Kodes with Peter Kolar, “The Greatest Jewish Tennis Players of All-Time” by Sandra Harwitt, “Cattle to Courts A History of Tennis In Texas” by Ken McAllister, “Tennis Made Easy” by Kelly Gunterman, “On This Day In Tennis History” by Randy Walker, “A Player’s Guide To USTA League Tennis” by Tony Serksnis, “Court Confidential: Inside The World Of Tennis” by Neil Harman, “A Backhanded Gift” by Marshall Jon Fisher, “Boycott: Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games” by Tom Caraccioli and Jerry Caraccioli (www.Boycott1980.com), “How To Permanently Erase Negative Self Talk So You Can Be Extraordinary” by Emily Filloramo, “Internet Dating 101: It’s Complicated, But It Doesn’t Have To Be” by Laura Schreffler, “How To Sell Your Screenplay” by Carl Sautter, “Bone Appetit: Gourmet Cooking For Your Dog” by Suzan Anson, “The Rules of Neighborhood Poker According to Hoyle” by Stewart Wolpin among others.