Juan Martin del Potro is still firmly involved in tennis, despite retiring from the sport in 2024.
Del Potro congratulated Carlos Alcaraz at the Australian Open, after the Spaniard defeated Novak Djokovic to win the Grand Slam.
The Argentine was also recently in attendance for Gael Monfils’ final-ever match at the Mexico Open, where he was awarded with a swansong ceremony.
Del Potro, still fully invested in the world of tennis, has now explained details about his relationship with Novak Djokovic.
Juan Martin del Potro details his relationship with Novak Djokovic
Del Potro and Djokovic have been competing against each other for decades and their ATP Tour rivalry was storied.
“We’ve known each other since we were 15-16 years old. We’ve shared our entire career together, we’ve had a lot of epic matches, very emotional. That’s forged a very special relationship,” del Potro explained.
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Djokovic and del Potro enjoyed a one-sided rivalry, with the Argentine picking up just four victories from their 20 ATP Tour matches.
They ended their rivalry with an exhibition match in Argentina, which acted as del Potro’s final-ever tennis match.
That helped them became firm friends and it’s an act the Argentine will remember forever.
“Our friendship was crowned with my farewell match in Argentina. I invited him to come to my last match and be my opponent. He was very generous and accepted.
“We still have a very nice relationship. For example, I called him on the phone while he was at the Australian Open. We laughed and talked.”
Del Potro won his final match, dubbed ‘The Last Challenge’, in straight sets in front of 15,000 fans in Buenos Aires.
Juan Martin del Potro’s four victories against Novak Djokovic
Del Potro lost 16 times to Djokovic on the ATP Tour, which surely made his four victories that much sweeter.
The Argentine saved his wins against Djokovic for the big occasions, with two of them coming at the Olympic games.
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Del Potro ruined Djokovic’s hopes of a gold medal at the Rio Olympics, and swiped bronze off him in London.
The Grand Slam winner also managed to defeat Djokovic in the Davis Cup and the semi-finals of Indian Wells.
Djokovic and del Potro only met in one Grand Slam final, which went the way of the Serbian at the 2018 US Open.
