Juan Martin del Potro suffers another devastating injury setback

The unluckiest man in tennis is injured again.

Juan Martin del Potro has suffered a fractured right kneecap following his fall during a match in Shanghai this week, his spokesman has said in a statement.

Del Potro, who has been unlucky with injuries throughout his career, retired from his round-of-16 match against Borna Coric on Thursday after falling innocuously.

The statement said that “the medical studies carried out on Saturday showed that Juan Martin del Potro suffered a fracture of his right patella bone in Shanghai”.

“In the coming days, the doctors will evaluate the recovery process needed to return.”

The 30-year-old Argentine, who is ranked fourth in the world and had been enjoying one of the best seasons of his career, is wearing a splint on his right leg.

“It’s a very difficult moment,” he said. “I feel very sad. It’s a hard blow that leaves me without strength.

“It’s very difficult for me to think about recovery again, I did not expect this to happen.”

‘The new Novak’ sends warning to No.1 Nadal

The “new” Novak Djokovic warned that he was gunning for Rafael Nadal’s World No.1 ranking after winning the Shanghai Masters with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Borna Coric.

The 14-time Grand Slam champion has been imperious all week and barely offered a sniff to the 19th-ranked Croatian, a good friend and sometime-training partner.

The end when it inevitably arrived was anti-climactic, with the Serb winning the championship point after a video review.

Djokovic buried his head in his hand at the absurdity of it.

The 31-year-old will leapfrog Roger Federer into second in the world when the rankings are released on Monday but will not stop there as the season reaches its climax.

Spanish great Nadal, who was not in Shanghai or Beijing last week because of a knee injury, will be just 215 points ahead of Djokovic in the race to finish as year-end number one.

“I could not ask for a better scenario,” Djokovic, who last sat atop the rankings two years ago, said of his late surge to the summit of men’s tennis.

“I am very close now to Nadal in the rankings and put myself in a good position for the last period of the year.”