After two-and-a-half hours on the court in Rio, the Serbian was beaten 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-2) by Del Potro, who also conquered Djokovic at London 2012.
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Del Potro has fallen outside the top 100 in the world rankings but showed flashes of the hard-hitting brilliance that helped him win the U.S. Open in 2009.
Unfortunately, the 27-year-old del Potro has spent years recovering from multiple surgeries.
“It will be a tough match for me but if I can still hit my forehand hard and serve well then maybe I can win”.
The unseeded Brazilian duo needed seven match points to close the deal.The Murray brothers also lost in the first round of the 2012 London Olympics, and in the second round four years earlier in Beijing. When he arrived at Wimbledon this year, though, he hadn’t appeared at a major in 2½ years. He would upset fourth-seeded Stan Wawrinka in the second round there, and even though a tired del Potro lost his next match, it was a hint that he might yet still have some greatness in him. But the No. 1 ranked holder is still alive in doubles, though, so a gold medal in Rio remains a possibility. For years, del Potro theoretically “could have” competed with men’s tennis’ “Big Four” of Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray because of his baseline firepower.
He said: “Delpo was the better player and he just deserved to win”.
“It was a wonderful evening from the beginning”, said Del Potro.
Del Potro, the towering Argentine with thunder in his forehand, has had more than his share of setbacks, including multiple wrist operations that have knocked him repeatedly out of the top tier of the men’s game.
With the loss, Djokovic is still left seeking his first Olympic gold medal.
In a case of déjà vu all over again, for the second Olympics in a row, Serbia’s Novak Djokovic is out thanks to Argentinian Juan Martin del Potro.
Djokovic, who completed the career Grand Slam at the French Open in June, admitted it was tough to take. But he was upset in the third round at Wimbledon by 41st-ranked Sam Querrey.
All is not lost in his quest for gold as Novak and his doubles partner, Nenad Zimonjic, have made it into the second round, as reported by the official Rio Olympics site.
Del Potro had a forgettable experience when he had to spend 40 minutes in the dark in a lift. It would be 5-0 before Djokovic scored a point. “He’s a great guy and he said some kind words to me at the end”.
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RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – Novak Djokovic shook his head and placed his palm over welling eyes on his way to the locker room after a first-round Olympic exit, devastated he might never realize his goal of adding a gold in singles to a substantial collection of Grand Slam titles.
