Argentinian tennis player Juan Martin Del Potro will enter the main draw for the French Open, the second Grand Slam of 2016, thanks to his protected ranking from April 2014, tournament organisers have confirmed.
After returning to the court in February after almost one year of inactivity, the 2009 US Open winner is currently ranked 339 in the world. However, he will appear in the Paris tournament list in the seventh place which he held two years ago before he injured his wrist, reports Xinhua.
The protected ranking system, which averages the player's position in the three months after an injury, will allow Del Potro, 27, to avoid having to play in the qualifying rounds at Roland Garros.
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Even though Del Potro is not the most comfortable on clay surfaces, in the 2009 edition of the tournament the Argentinian had his best performance when he reached the semi-finals. He later lost to Switzerland's Roger Federer in five sets.
The last time Del Potro participated in the Paris tournament was in 2012 when he also lost against Federer, but this time in the quarter-finals.
This year, the tournament will take place from May 16 to June 5.
A few days ago, the bronze medal winner in the London Olympics 2012 announced he would participate in the tournaments in Munich (Germany) from April 25 and one week later Madrid's Masters 1000. Both will be of clay surfaces.
