Virtually all of the contenders in the ATP 500 field at Dubai have survived their opening matches, with one notable exception.  Second seed and world No. 5 Juan Martin del Potro retired after one set of his first-round match against Somdev Devvarman with an ongoing injury to his left wrist.

Since starting the season with a title in Sydney, just before the Australian Open, del Potro has seen his results dwindle in inverse proportion to the mounting concern over his wrist.  Following a second-round loss in Melbourne, he traveled to the Mayo Clinic for an evaluation with specialist Dr. Richard Berger.  Assured that he needed only physical therapy rather than surgery, he played the ATP 500 indoor event in Rotterdam but lost in the quarterfinals to Ernests Gulbis.  Then came this week's setback in Dubai, which will send del Potro on another trip to the Mayo Clinic.

Del Potro underwent surgery on his right wrist  at Berger's direction four years ago, which required a long recovery process.  An injury to his other wrist would strike a demoralizing blow and raise questions as to whether the former US Open champion ever will be healthy for an extended period again.  Surely recognizing that fact, del Potro entered his post-match press conference in a somber mood.

“My wrist is hurting a lot, and everybody knows what happened to me four years ago with my other wrist,” said the world No. 5.  “It was really tough to play today.  I tried everything.  I cannot be the player I would like to be.”

This recurrence of the wrist injury raises some doubt regarding del Potro's participation in the season's first Masters 1000 tournament, which starts at Indian Wells midway through next week.  Del Potro defends finalist points there after defeating Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic at last year's event.  

That said, ranking points always can be regained.  What matters most is properly identifying and analyzing the injury to his left wrist before embarking on the best course of treatment for his long-term goals.  Del Potro cannot unleash his explosive power without trusting both of his wrists to their fullest, so there is little sense in limping through a series of mediocre efforts rather than confronting the issue directly.

Even in del Potro's absence, the Dubai tournament still features four of the top 10 men.  All four of them will appear on a Wednesday schedule so busy that world No. 10 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga must play his second-round match on Court 1.  Most eyes will focus on the night session, when Roger Federer faces Radek Stepanek and Novak Djokovic meets the recently surging Roberto Bautista Agut.  But Tsonga's match against Nikolay Davydenko, who took him to two tiebreaks last week, could be the most competitive and entertaing of the day.