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Juan Martin Del Potro said goodbye to tennis a few nights ago. The Argentine tennis player left a big mark on the tennis scene, and it was time for him to focus on other things.
However, the US Open winner and owner of 24 Grand Slam titles played an exhibition in Argentina, after which Juan officially hung up his tennis racket.
Before the start of the match, Novak Djokovic, a tennis legend and a name well-known to fans, looked back on Juan Martin Del Potro's career, calling it legendary. The Serbian tennis player points out that Del Potro could have done much more if injuries had not marked his career.
The 36-year-old has been faced with many injuries since the beginning of his career, and it seemed that whenever he got into the rhythm, injuries would prevent him from taking a step forward. Djokovic stressed that he is a golfer who has also had many injuries in his career, but he has not had problems anywhere near the Argentine tennis player's.
Djokovic admits that he is sad with regard to such a development of events with the Argentine, but he's excited that he can be part of the exhibition match, saying goodbye to him in the proper way.
"Delp's career is legendary, but I believe that, each of us will agree, he had a lot of bad luck with injuries. It could have been an even bigger career if it weren't for the knee injury. I too have faced injuries, but I have never been so unlucky. Injuries are the biggest enemy of professional athletes. When your health is not good, you cannot do the things you have dedicated your life to. Everything I had the opportunity to see with Delp makes me extremely sad, but today is a day to celebrate," said Djokovic. looking back at the notable names of the tennis scene who also said goodbye to tennis.
The 37-year-old tennis player is still motivated to produce great results, and he still belongs to the very top of the tennis scene. He's proud of the career he had, but he's also proud of the careers of his colleagues who also did impressive things on the tennis scene. Looking at the year behind him, Djokovic is delighted.
"I still play and I believe that I am part of the golden era. Federer, Nadal, Murray, Delpo, Wawrinka... This is a special era of our sport. Our individual careers were influenced by all these rivalries in the last fifteen years. For me, looking at this year, it's an amazing thing."
Although in a way you can be happy when one of your rivals ends his career, considering that a much easier path to success opens up for you, the Serbian tennis player doesn't see things that way. With the departure of famous names, Djokovic admits that he's sad, probably remembering some moments with nostalgia.
He is equally motivated to achieve success and spoils the plans of younger tennis players who have the potential to win tournaments. Tennis fans know very well who we are talking about.
"I'm also a little sad because my biggest rivals have finished their careers. Part of me, tennis-wise, left with them, but I continue to look for motivation. Now I work with a new coach, one of my biggest rivals, who inspires me to try to achieve great things together with him in our sport," Djokovic concluded.
Andy Murray as Djokovic's coach
Many are delighted by the fact that Djokovic's new coach is actually his former rival, Andy Murray, also a tennis player whose career is marked by injuries. After his retirement earlier this year, the British tennis player took a break for a while and realized that it would be great if he continued his career as a coach. TV pundit, Mark Petchy is one of those who is delighted with the situation, considering that the two will make a great partnership. It'll be somewhat strange to see Murray in such a role, but many consider this one of the loveliest stories on the tennis scene.
“I’ve said it a few times that Andy [Murray]would go into coaching, but I didn’t think in my wildest dreams it would be quite as quickly as this and with Novak [Djokovic]!
I think it’s awesome for tennis and I think it’s great for both of them in terms of the passion that they bring to the sport and the knowledge that they have.
It’s going to be fascinating for all of us sitting on the sidelines to see how this partnership is going to work. Sitting here outside the ring looking in at those two, I think it’s going to be a great thing for tennis. It’s already created huge headlines and I think it will create a huge buzz down in Australia.”- Patchy said, as quoted by Tennis Head.
English (US)