Juan Martin del Potro bid farewell after beating Novak Djokovic 6-4, 7-5 in an emotional exhibition match in front of his home crowd in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Sunday.
The exhibition, titled ‘The Last Challenge,’ was held at a packed Parque Roca stadium.
“I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love Juan Martin… His greatest victory in life is that he’s a wonderful person,” said Djokovic, a 24-time Major champion, after the match.
Former World No. 3 Del Potro broke down in tears multiple times during the match attended by several celebrities, including friend and former tennis player Gabriela Sabatini.
Del Potro came into the spotlight in 2009 as the then teenager shocked Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in the semifinal and final, respectively to win his maiden Major at the US Open. He won a total of 22 titles but multiple injuries never allowed the Argentine to add more Grand Slams to his name. He last played a Tour-level match two years ago.
On Sunday, the 36-year-old Del Potro reviewed some of the best moments of his career on a giant screen, including the Olympic medals won in London in 2012 and Rio de Janeiro in 2016. He also won the Davis Cup title with Argentina in 2016.
Del Potro, who hails from Tandil in the South American country, also received tributes not just from tennis players such as Federer, Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz and Gael Monfils but also from Argentina basketball legend and Olympic gold medallist Emanuel Ginóbili and World Cup-winning Argentine coach Lionel Scaloni in a moving video.
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