Wednesday 1/31/2024
13:34
Hours after announcing his retirement from tennis after a 16-year career, Federico Delbonis joined the Argentine Davis Cup delegation in Rosario, where the National Team led by Guillermo Coria will seek to return to the Finals of the competition against Kazakhstan. “I came to say goodbye in the place where I was happy,” said the 2016 champion.
Winner of the decisive point in Zagreb, the left-hander agreed with the Argentine coaching staff to join the team as a collaborator during the week in Rosario. In this way, the Azuleño will help Francisco Cerundolo, Sebastián Báez, Tomás Etcheverry, Máximo González and Andrés Molteni to prepare the Qualifiers series at the Jockey Club.
The protagonist told how the idea was conceived: “I was at home and I thought: ‘What happens if I go to Rosario? Would she add?’ She bit me like a bug, I thought this was one of the places where I should say goodbye, because the Davis Cup marked an important point in my career. Guille (Coria) thought the idea was great and here I am, happy and super grateful. I’m like a boy returning to his home. We’ve just started and I’m already enjoying it a lot.”
Delbo, 33 years old, had an outstanding professional career beyond the feat of 2016, the year in which Argentina finally won the long-awaited Silver Salad Bowl: He was 33rd in the ATP ranking that same year, he won the ATP 250 in San Pablo and Marrakech, in addition to reaching the finals in Nice and the ATP 500 in Hamburg, which he entered after beating Roger Federer in the semifinals.
He also defeated other great rivals such as Andy Murray (then No. 2 in the world); Stanislas Wawrinka (was No. 9) and Juan Martín del Potro in his last match as a professional. As if that were not enough, he is one of the players most loved by his colleagues.
2024-01-31 16:38:18
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