Del Potro began his 2015 season with wrist pain and was not sure whether he would play Sydney and the 2015 Australian Open. However, at the last minute he decided to play both tournaments. He had not played a tournament since February 2014, but he started the 2015 Apia International Sydney with a straight-sets win against Sergiy Stakhovsky. In the second round, his opponent was world No. 19 and top seed Fabio Fognini. It was a tough test for del Potro, but he proved to be stronger than the Italian. Del Potro was through to the quarterfinals, but lost to Mikhail Kukushkin in two tiebreakers. After his Sydney campaign, he was drawn to play Jerzy Janowicz in the first round of the 2015 Australian Open, del Potro withdrew due to his wrist injury the day before the match started. Del Potro played in Miami and was not seen for nearly a year, undergoing surgery again in June 2015.