Andy Murray has the talent to make comeback, says Juan Martín del Potro

Few people have a better insight into Andy Murray’s torment than Juan Martín del Potro. For Murray’s right hip, read Del Potro’s troublesome knees. Or his unreliable wrists. The Argentinian was close to retiring from tennis three years ago but he summoned the will to return to the top level and believes his old friend and rival is capable of pulling off a similar comeback.

Del Potro will see Murray at Queen’s Club this coming week and he says they will talk about tennis, injuries and football. Yet there is no chance they will have one of their epic bouts. Murray, who had hip surgery earlier this year, is set to play doubles with Feliciano López during the Fever-Tree Championships and at Wimbledon next month, and there is no date set for his return to singles competition.

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Del Potro has enough scars to know “injuries are part of our job”. The 2009 US Open champion has been let down by his body more than he cares to remember. Yet while it is doubtful that Murray will ever reach again the heights that took him to three major titles and two Olympic golds, Del Potro believes the former world No 1 will have a new perspective when he steps on the court again.

“He has already won many grand slams and he was world No 1,” Del Potro says. “He has nothing to lose. If he plays a tennis match without pain, it will be even bigger than winning a tournament.

“First, he has to be without pain. Then everybody knows how good Andy is. He has the talent to come back, mentally to be good again and also he is one of the guys who can feel the tennis. He loves it so much. The fans and players are waiting to see him again because he is one of the best.”

Related: Andy Murray beats Juan Martín del Potro to win second Olympic gold

Del Potro feared the Scot had played his last ever match at the Australian Open in January. “We thought it was the end but for some reason he is still fighting,” he says. “Everybody has problems in their life and the smarter people are the ones who know how to find a solution. I think Andy is close to finding that solution.”

Del Potro has been in Murray’s position. He barely played for three years after undergoing surgery on his left wrist and initially looked a shadow of his former self after returning in 2016, not least because he could barely hit a backhand.

He still had that famous forehand, however, and the rest of his game slowly returned. “I was close to quitting right before the Olympics three years ago,” he says. “Then I played a fantastic tournament in Rio. I got the silver medal [losing to Murray] and then Argentina won the Davis Cup for the first time. I’ve made the final of the US Open and semis at the French Open.

“That’s happened after my injuries, so now I have nothing to lose. I have already achieved my goals with tennis. Sometimes you feel you are never going to be the same again. With time and motivation in the end you enjoy tennis life, which is what I am doing now.”

Related: Andy Murray to make Queen’s doubles comeback against world’s best

Del Potro, who lost to Novak Djokovic in the US Open final last year, says he is free of pain after suffering a fractured patella in Shanghai last October. “I was world No 3 and I was playing for big things at the end of the year,” he says. “The ranking doesn’t matter any more for me. I just want to be healthy again.”

There is a sense of unfinished business. Del Potro, who lost to Karen Khachanov in the fourth round of the French Open this month, had the world at his feet when he beat Roger Federer in the US Open final 10 years ago. He knows he can still take on Djokovic, Federer and Nadal, even if he is unsure how his knee will react on grass.

“I know how good I am when I am 100%,” he says. “I beat all of them in the past and I was close to beating Novak in Rome. I know how the tennis is between them and me when we are even.”

Juan Martin del Potro is competing in the Fever-Tree Championships at the Queen’s Club this week. Tickets from www.fevertreechampionships.com