'Everyone loves him': Juan Martin del Potro beats Novak Djokovic in emotional farewell exhibition
Despite having not played an official match since 2022, "The Last Challenge" in Buenos Aires was a send-off for del Potro on his own terms.
Who's cutting onions in here? The tears flowed in Buenos Aires on Sunday as Juan Martin del Potro finally got to say goodbye to tennis on his own terms with "The Last Challenge," an exhibition match against Novak Djokovic at a packed Parque Roca stadium.
The 2009 US Open champion played his last match on the ATP tour in 2022 after seeing his career derailed by multiple injuries, but had enough left in him to defeat Djokovic 7-5, 6-4 in the showpiece singles match of a celebration that repeatedly left both men emotional, including when they shared a long embrace at the end.
But the result was secondary for the participants, and del Potro, who confessed in the days leading up to the match that the chronic knee problem, which first flared up in 2018, has had a devastating effect on his quality of life, said the proceedings were "a farewell much more beautiful than I dreamed of."
"Like everyone here in this stadium, I am very emotional today," Djokovic said during the evening, as reported by Eurosport. "I am also grateful for being able to play with my friend, with a great person and a great player, as well as a great rival. It is a very special day for me too.
"I do not know a person who does not love Juan Martin del Potro. Everyone loves him very much. I come from a country that has a culture with those values, that defines a person by how they behave and the professionalism they have, but it is always important to have respect and feel that life in the eyes, in the heart, in the soul.
"Juan Martin is an example for all of us, and his greatest victory in life is being a wonderful person."
Read more: Juan Martin del Potro opens up on injury anguish: 'A never-ending nightmare'
Del Potro and Djokovic were joined by former US Open champion Gabriela Sabatini and former doubles world No. 1 Gisela Dulko, del Potro's fellow Argentines, in person for the evening, and virtually by a host of other top names in the sport.
A video tribute with messages from Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz and Gael Monfils was played, with Federer speaking from the heart about the "special moment" that the man who beat him in the 2009 US Open final was having at home.
"You were a very special player and person for the world of tennis, and I hope this moment is a beautiful one, one where you are celebrating, not a sad one," Federer said. "We all need to take that next step in life, and I believe the best for you is yet to come, Juan Martin."
Scroll on for more photos from the celebration.
