Two weeks after Rafael Nadal’s farewell, it was Juan Martín Del Potro’s turn. The winner of the 2009 US Open had an unbeatable farewell to tennis at the age of 36 with a luxury guest, Novak Djokovic, with whom he played the exhibition match that represented the final chapter of a successful career. The event, titled ‘The Last Challenge’, was witnessed by 15,000 people at the Parque Roca Stadium in Buenos Aires.
The Tandil native, who had not played an official match since February 5, 2022 at the Buenos Aires Open, reached number 3 in the world ranking on August 13, 2018. After a 6-4, 7-5 victory against The Serbian, the winner of 22 ATP titles, was applauded in an emotional ceremony.
Apart from the US Open, the Argentine won two Olympic medals (bronze in London 2012 and silver in Rio 2016), in addition to being the great figure of the only Davis Cup won by Argentina in 2016. ‘Delpo’ made the decision to retiring after several operations on his knees, which made his life difficult on the track and off it.
A visibly moved Djokovic was full of praise for ‘the tower of Tandil’ as an athlete and as a human being. “Tonight is sad for the world of tennis, but I feel very happy because we are here to celebrate Juan Martín’s career. “We are saying goodbye to a great professional, but a better person. An exceptional rival, but a person who transcended the courts and generated great love in each of his rivals,” said ‘Nole’.
Another part of the last act of Del Potro’s career was a video projected on four screens in the stadium with words from Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Carlos Alcaraz, Lionel Scaloni, Emmanuel Ginóbili, Martín Palermo and Gael Monfils.
Finally, it was time to speak for the Argentine, who first thanked Djokovic for his company in such a special moment. “I want to make a separate paragraph for Novak. “In March in the United States I asked him if there was a possibility of him coming to Argentina in a year where he had a great challenge, which was to win the Olympic Games with a very tight schedule.”
“He immediately said yes because he wanted to return to Argentina after eleven years to be with me and with the Argentinians. He has all the titles in sport, but with these attitudes he has the most difficult trophy, which is the love of the people,” he commented. ‘Delpo’ through tears.
‘La torre de Tandil’ showed recognition to all those who in some way were part of his path in tennis. “From the bottom of my heart, I thank everyone who came and has accompanied me throughout my career. I thank everyone who accompanied me until this last challenge, in addition to thanking the athletes and sportsmen, now former colleagues, who left their message on this special day. Finally, a special mention for all my family and my people who accompanied me from a very young age until today. And I promise you that I finish my career and leave happy,” del Potro concluded.
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