Juan Martin del Potro withdraws from tournaments in Malaysia, Tokyo, and Shanghai

Working his way back from his second major wrist surgery in four years, 2009 U.S. Open champion and former World No. 4 Juan Martin del Potro has pulled out of upcoming tournaments in Malaysia, Tokyo, and Shanghai. 

Del Potro played his last tour event in Dubai in late February, when he retired from his first-round match after one set. He then had his non-dominant wrist operated on in March (his first surgery, in 2010, had been on his dominant wrist), and was targeting the Asian swing for his return. 

Per a post on his Facebook page - as translated and relayed by BBC Tennis - del Potro hasn't yet returned to the physical level he'd hoped to by this time, but still plans to play in the European tournaments in late fall. That slate includes the 500-level indoor event in Basel, Switzerland, which del Potro won last year (beating Roger Federer on his home soil in the final), as well as the Paris Masters.

Del Potro did indeed have success in Asia last season, winning the 500-level event in Tokyo, and making the final of the Shanghai Masters, where he lost to current World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in a third-set tiebreaker (after beating then-No. 1 Rafael Nadal in the semis). 

He finished 2013 ranked fifth in the world, the same spot he occupied when his first wrist surgery put him out of commission. That first layoff - which, aside from a premature and aborted comeback, lasted over a year - knocked him all the way down to 485th. From there, it took him another two-and-a-half years to get back to No. 5. 

To that effect, his inability to play in China and Japan is not insignificant. He's currently ranked 14th, but a big chunk of his point total is carry-over from those tournaments last year, and his failure to protect the points he earned there could send him tumbling a long way.