An exhibition matchup between Juan Martin del Potro and Novak Djokovic was recently announced. Del Potro stated that playing his last tennis match in Argentina was his dream, and the Serb promised to assist him in realizing that goal.
In what is set to be his final career match, Djokovic will play the Argentine in honour of tennis great del Potro. With Djokovic’s assistance, the 35-year-old can now officially retire from the game, something he has been looking for.
In a video that he uploaded to X, the Argentine starts off by complimenting the former world No. 1 and talking about his dream.
He asked Djokovic in an interview: “I have a dream. I want to play my last match in Argentina and I want you to come.”
Djokovic replied: “Are you kidding me? Obviously, I’m coming. For you, in Argentina, of course.”
In 2009, the former US Open champion won his only Grand Slam championship. Though he was the only player outside of the Big Three to win a major between the Australian Open of 2005 and the US Open of 2012, that does not fully capture the calibre of Del Potro’s skill.
The exhibition match is scheduled for December 1 at Parque Roca in Buenos Aires as part of an event called The Final Challenge. Even though Djokovic leads their head-to-head record by a wide margin, Del Potro triumphed at the Olympics. After defeating Djokovic in the first round to win bronze in 2012, he was defeated by Del Potro in the first round four years later to win silver.
Del Potro ⚔️ Djokovic
Former World No. 3 Juan Martin Del Potro is set to play a farewell exhibition match against Novak Djokovic in Argentina this December 🍿 https://t.co/AEX17TipxX
— TENNIS (@Tennis) September 13, 2024
Será increĂble 🥹@DjokerNole pic.twitter.com/oGPfgxUcm7
— Juan M. del Potro (@delpotrojuan) September 12, 2024
Novak Djokovic in 2024
LWWWWWWWWL Now ranked no.4, Djokovic played his last match on the 30th of August when he was defeated by world no.24 Alexei Popyrin 6-4 6-4 2-6 6-4 in the 3rd round of the U.S. Open (draw).
During this season Novak owns an overall 31-8 record. Djokovic conquered 1 title in Paris. Novak was the finalist in Wimbledon.
He is also scheduled to play in Shanghai (Shanghai Rolex Masters) on the 2nd of October and Paris (Rolex Paris Masters) on the 28th of October.
