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González moves closer to Masters following Del Potro's injury

Due to an injury, the Argentine tennis player has left the Vienna tournament, where González will compete to enter the semi-finals tomorrow.

09 de Octubre de 2008 | 12:49 | AFP, El Mercurio Online

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SANTIAGO.- Despite a performance at the Vienna ATP tournament that has been mediocre up until this point, Chilean tennis player Fernando González (ATP Nº12) is still going strong in Austria. Furthermore, his possibilities of making it to the Shanghai Masters have increased after Argentine player Juan Martín del Potro (ATP Nº9) was forced to abandon the tournament today.


The Argentine player suffered an injury to one of his right toes, leaving the road to the Masters wide open for the La Reina native, who will play tomorrow in hopes of making it to the semi-finals of the tournament in Vienna.


Del Potro currently holds the eighth slot in the "Race", with González in the 12th position. If the Chilean player can harness a win tomorrow, however, and go on to take first place in Vienna, he will add 317 points to his total and climb to the 8th place in the Race of Champions.


Nevertheless, González' possibilities to make it to Shanghai are not purely concentrated in Austria. Next week, Chile's number one tennis player will participate in the Masters Series in Madrid and later in Paris. As such, the future of González lies firmly in his own hands amid recent doubts over his potential.