Juan Martin del Potro, of Argentina, cries while hugging Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, after defeating him in the men’s tennis competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Aug. 7, 2016.
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In the second-set tiebreaker, del Petro crushed two straight forehand winners on Djokovic’s serve to take a 3-0 lead.
These two faced off for bronze in London four years ago, with del Potro winning. “It’s wonderful for me”, said del Potro, who was overwhelmed with emotions.
The duo exchanged a warm embrace at the net and a tearful Djokovic then left the court, knowing an Olympic gold would remain the one thing missing from his incredible CV, for at least another four years. Of course, being the gentleman that he is, Djokovic congratulated his opponent by giving him a big bear hug.
But Juan Martin del Potro, or “Delpo”, as his friends called him, played like a world’s No. 1, as well.
This was a tough loss for Novak. He quietly admitted after the match that he may not be handling this loss as well as others.
“The wounds are still fresh”. “But you’ve got to deal with it”.
The Williams sisters meanwhile lost a first Olympic doubles match when they were ousted 6-3, 6-4 defeat against Czech Fed Cup winners Lucie Safarova and Barbora Strycova. “It’s not easy to handle, especially not now, just after the match”.
With Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna out of the men’s doubles with a loss to Marcin Matkowski and Lukasz Kubot of Poland, and Sania Mirza and partner Prarthana Thombare also exiting, it is up to the mixed doubles combine of Mirza and Bopanna to keep India’s medal hopes alive in the tennis.
Juan del Potro was also an emotional wreck as he was literally sobbing, but these were tears of joy.
Del Potro is an injury prone Tennis players as he just recovered from a wrist injury and now he beat the No 1.
Just from watching the emotions that came pouring out of each champion, it’s safe to assume that this was a moment neither player will ever forget. The 27-year-old pro was smoking out there on the Brazilian tennis court. He was rescued by the Argentine handball team.
“It was not our best day”, said Venus who will be 40 when the next Olympics rolls around in 2020 in Tokyo.
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The 27-year-old Del Potro, who has dropped to 141st in the world after nearly two years out with wrist problems, did not face a single break point on his serve and hammered 29 forehand winners past a helpless Djokovic.
