look news india
New Delhi, 2 December (Hindustan Reporter). Juan Martin del Potro bid farewell to professional tennis after defeating Novak Djokovic 6-4, 7-5 in an emotional showdown match in front of his home crowd in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Sunday.
Titled ‘The Last Challenge’, the exhibition was held at a packed Park Roca Stadium.
“I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love Juan Martin… His biggest triumph in life is that he’s a great human being,” Djokovic, the 24-time major champion, said after the match.
Former world No. 3 del Potro cried several times during the match, which was attended by a number of celebrities, including her friend and former tennis player Gabriela Sabatini.
Del Potro came into limelight in 2009 when the then-teenager won his first major title at the US Open, defeating Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in the semi-finals and final respectively. He won a total of 22 titles, but due to several injuries, the Argentinian player did not add more Grand Slams to his name. He last played a tour-level match two years ago.
On Sunday, del Potro, 36, reviewed some of the best moments of his career on a giant screen, including Olympic medals won in London in 2012 and Rio de Janeiro in 2016. He also won the Davis Cup title with Argentina in 2016.
Del Potro, who hails from Tandil, a town in Argentina, has been mentored not only by tennis players like Federer, Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz and Gael Monfils but also by Argentine basketball legend and Olympic gold medalist Emmanuel Ginobili and World Cup-winning Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni. Also received a touching video message.