IN MELBOURNE
JUAN Martin del Potro comes into the interview room. He is clad in a Nike sweatshirt, but really he is wearing defeat. You can see it in his face, his walk, his posture. He looks tired. Older. Defeat takes something out of you, it deflates you. Sport is cruel that way.
Del Potro is the first of the contenders to fall at the Australian Open. He sits down before the microphones and looks down. His first match was four sets, second match five sets, third match four sets and now he has played five sets over 4hr 38min with Marin Cilic. It is too much for a man with an injured wrist and an injured foot.
Del Potro speaks softly always, but today he seems even quieter. He praises Cilic as a very fine player who has the opportunity to keep going in the tournament. It is a graceful moment and typical of him.
Someone should show Serena Williams film of this very short, very sad press conference. She doesn't do praise. After losing to Samantha Stosur last year, whom she plays tomorrow, she said: "She had a lot of lucky shots; she's a good framer." When asked about these comments the other day, Serena could not remember them.
But del Potro is very likeable, he has a lanky humility to him. Even on court his stroke violence is not offensive. He is the reigning US Open champion, expected to perform here, and it is asked if the pressure has now been lifted.
No, he says, "I enjoy the pressure". He has been down, he explains, in every match and the crowd have helped him lift, helped him keep fighting. He will remember that. He is coated in defeat now, but when he goes home he will search for positives, as athletes do, and find them. He will remember how well he wore pressure for three matches. Only then he fell.
Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina lost to Croatia's Marin Cilic.
-- PHOTO: AP