Watch Djokovic’s emotional response to his loss in the video above.
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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. Del Potro got off to a hot start in the first one and finished it on serve at 6-4 with another crushing forehand.
This was a tough loss for Novak.
A hugely hard match from both del Potro and Djokovic’s perspectives — each had the misfortune of drawing each other in the first round.
The 12-time grand slam victor has now lost his last two competitive matches.
The players shared a lengthy embrace at the net after match point, Djokovic broke down, Del Potro could barely believe the enormity of what he had done and the spirit of the Olympic Games was there for all to see. “It’s not easy to handle, especially now, just after the wounds are still fresh”.
But it’s not all over for Djokovic, as he is also in the men’s doubles and moved into the second round while he could also opt to play the mixed doubles as he chases Olympic gold.
He would have achieved the career golden slam by earning a singles gold medal. Yet he’s also been bothered by injuries and hasn’t been able to play the kind of tennis he’s wanted. “That’s sport. He just came up with some extraordinary tennis and I have to congratulate him”, Djokovic added. – ReutersDel Potro, now ranked at 145 in the world after being No. 4 in 2010, said Sunday’s win was more special than his victory in 2012.
The Serb was hardly alone in his disappointment on Day 2 of the Rio de Janeiro Games: He was one of three No. 1 seeds to exit the tennis competition in a wild span of 12 hours. The 27-year-old pro was smoking out there on the Brazilian tennis court.
Apparently, del Potro’s athlete-village block suffered a power outage while he was in the elevator. del Potro’s media representative tweeted this cute picture of the 2009 US Open champion while he sat in the elevator waiting for help.
“Today was not our best day as a team”.
But when the Argentine is healthy and smacking his signature forehand around the court, his play is worthy of the gold medal match. I didn’t expect to beat Novak tonight.
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Djokovic went down under a hail of Del Potro winners, the Argentinian’s forehand proving particularly devastating as he overcame the top seed in style. It will be interesting to see how far the 2009 US Open victor will go in Rio.
