Juan Martin del Potro is back, and Novak Djokovic is gone.
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He would upset fourth-seeded Stan Wawrinka in the second round there, and even though a worn out del Potro lost his next match, it was a hint that he might yet still have some greatness left in him. Give credit to del Potro for an outstanding performance, but Djoker just didn’t show up to this one.
Del Potro was also involved in the incredible match of London 2012, when he slugged it out for nearly four and a half hours with Roger Federer in a semi-final at the All England Club. And with the way he was booming his serves and forehand, del Potro put the pressure on Djokovic from the start.
He fired 41 winners to Djokovic’s 24 and also had the upper hand in unforced errors, 24-32.
Olympic gold is the only major prize that still eludes Djokovic, who was distraught when he spoke to the media after the match.
Each of the two sets Sunday night required a tiebreaker, but Del Potro came out on top both times to secure a 7-6, 7-6 victory and advance to the second round.
Representing Serbia means a lot to Djokovic, who led his country to a Davis Cup title and carried its flag at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Games.
Murray had won all seven of his previous matches against Troicki and immediately hit back with a break of his own after dropping his first service game.
“I was pumped”, Ledecky said.
Also chasing a repeat in singles: Serena Williams, who was the only No. 1 seed with a victory Sunday, albeit a patchy one, 6-4, 6-2 against Australia’s Daria Gavrilova in singles. Abrahamson, who is covering his ninth Olympic games knows Phelps well and says he’s the greatest Olympian of all time, and he believes Phelps is going to add to his golden legacy during these Rio games.
An emotional Djokovic left the court with his head down after del Potro, whose career has been hampered by injuries, rallied past the Serb 6-7 (4-7), 6-7 (2-7).
Elsewhere, defending champions Serena and Venus Williams suffered their first ever Olympic doubles loss in the opening round in Rio.
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United States’ gold medal victor Katie Ledecky celebrates during the medal ceremony after setting a new world record in the women’s 400-meter freestyle final during the swimming competitions at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Monday, Aug. 8, 2016, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. They were beaten 6-3, 6-4 by the Czech Republic’s Lucie Safarova and Barbora Strycova.
