'I was a tennis pro for 20 years - but I’ll never forget what Novak Djokovic is doing for me'

Novak Djokovic is often formed arsenic being 1 of the super-villains of tennis, but the 24-time Grand Slam victor is simply a leader to 1 of the astir fashionable players successful the sport

Juan Martin Del Potro has opened up astir the unforgettable infinitesimal Novak Djokovic offered to question him into status with 1 last tennis match.

The Argentine, who famously ousted Djokovic successful the archetypal circular of the 2016 Olympic Games, had to bent up his racket 2 years agone aft repeated knee injuries ended his competitory career. Del Potro, 36, was not capable to person 1 last lucifer to accidental goodbye to competitory tennis and bounce disconnected into the sunset.

Over the years, Del Potro and Djokovic formed a adjacent relationship connected the tour. Recently, rumours abound that the erstwhile wanted to instrumentality connected the 24-time Grand Slam victor successful 1 last match, contempt his galore wounded battles.

After cottoning onto the whispers, Djokovic went retired of his mode to talk to the South American and find retired what helium wanted to do. Without hesitation, helium promised to beryllium the idiosyncratic to look Del Potro successful Buenos Aires connected December 1.

In an interrogation with Nacional, Del Potro said: "Until the past Miami Open, determination were rumours [about the match], determination was a small news, but we hadn't seen each different for a agelong time. One time successful Miami, helium said to me: 'Delpo, I cognize you're here, I privation you to travel to meal and we tin talk.'

"We had an unthinkable conversation. He asked maine if it was existent astir the match, I told him that the lone mode this could spell guardant is if helium wanted to travel maine that day.

"And helium answered: 'Count connected maine for immoderate I tin assistance you with it.' For me, it was precise affectional due to the fact that a feline similar him, with the choky docket helium has, with the things helium plays week aft week, the thousands of offers helium has of each kinds, to instrumentality a interruption and travel to Argentina for a fewer hours to beryllium with maine and the people, who besides emotion him, was precise special.

"I request to springiness closure to what tennis is and consciousness somewhat active, but this is the extremity of everything I went through. Having my last photograph with the racket adjacent to Novak is what volition enactment with maine for the remainder of my life."

Del Potro has not played since February 2022, wherever helium faced chap Argentine Federico Delbonis. The 2009 US Open victor did not cognize it would beryllium the last lucifer of his competitory career.

His upcoming accumulation against Djokovic has been dubbed "The Last Challenge". When asked wherefore helium was truthful hopeless for 1 past match, Del Potro said helium wants to yet bookend his career.

He's prepared to adjacent hazard further wounded to his genu for that priceless experience. He added: "I perceive stories of radical who get a prosthesis and locomotion without limb pain. But they archer maine 'not you due to the fact that you're 36 years old, and you person to hold different 15 years.' It's a speech I often person with doctors.

"I archer them 'look, what americium I going to hold for, to beryllium 50 to get a prosthesis to locomotion good from 50 to 70 if contiguous I can't ascent a staircase'. I request to springiness closure to what tennis is and consciousness somewhat active.

"But this is the extremity of everything I went through. Having my last photograph with the racket adjacent to Novak is what volition enactment with maine for the remainder of my life."