Juan Martin del Potro reveals Novak Djokovic's incredible gesture after emotional conversation
11/09/2024 09:15 AM
Novak Djokovic had no hesitation when Juan Martin del Potro asked him to play in his farewell match with the Serbian telling Del Potro “I will accompany you in your last moment on the court”.
Former world No 3 Del Potro’s career has been blighted by injury with many believing he would have won more than the one Grand Slam had he not struggled with wrist and knee injuries.
The 2009 US Open last competed on the ATP Tour in February 2022 and, after several failed attempts to make a comeback, he has confirmed he will bow out of tennis and he will go out in style in his home country as he will play an exhibition match in Buenos Aires on December 1.
The 36-year-old will have a dream match-up as the great Djokovic has agreed to take part in an encounter dubbed the “The Final Challenge”.
In an interview with La Nacion, Del Potro revealed that 24-time Grand Slam winner Djokovic immediately said “count on me” after he was asked to play.
“One day in Miami he called me and said ‘Delpo, I know you're here, I want to go to dinner together to talk’. Obviously I cancelled all my plans and went to dinner,” he said.
“It was a joy to see him again and we had an incredible talk, talking about life, about matches, about young people, about [Carlos] Alcaraz and [Jannik] Sinner…
“It was a spectacular talk that we would never have imagined in competition. These are beautiful things that tennis gives you once you're no longer there fighting for points.
“And after hours of talking and getting more comfortable, he said: ‘Well, tell me about your life. What are you doing? How are you? There are some news that circulated, is it true or false? How are you with that?’
“Then he said to me: ‘Well, let's get to the point. Is it true that you want to say goodbye, to play a match in Argentina?’
“I told him how I felt: ‘The only way this can go forward is if you want to accompany me that day. If not, I will not be emotionally prepared to face this and I am not convinced either.’
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“And he told me, like that, forcefully: ‘Count on me for whatever I can help you with. I have the Olympic Games, I have Saudi Arabia [the exhibition tournament], tournaments, this, that, my family, but somehow I will accompany you in your last moment on the court.’
“And for me it was very emotional because a guy like him, with the tight schedule he has, with the things he plays for week after week, the thousands of offers he has of all kinds, to take a break and come to Argentina for a couple of hours to be with me and the people, who also love him, was super special.”
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