"For me it was very emotional": Juan Martin Del Potro reveals Novak Djokovic's heartfelt response to his career's final match

Former world number three Juan Martin del Potro has opened up about an incredible response he received from Serbia’s Novak Djokovic about playing his final match. The 36-year-old is set to conclude his career at the highest level with the match against the former world number one Djokovic on his home soil.

Del Potro has recently spoken to La Nacion as quoted by Tennis 365 where he opened up about how Djokovic gave him an incredible response when he expressed his desire to face the legendary tennis star in his career’s final game.

The one-time Grand Slam winner, who won the US Open in 2009 after beating former world number one Switzerland’s Roger Federer in the final in a five-set thriller with a score of 3–6, 7–6(7–5), 4–6, 7–6(7–4), 6–2, further went on to reveal that he received a call from the Belgrade-born star who started the conversation about his final match and assured him that he will be there to accompanying him for the last time on the tennis court.

“One day in Miami he [Djokovic] called me and said ‘Delpo, I know you’re here, I want to go to dinner together to talk’,” said Del Potro. “Obviously I cancelled all my plans and went to dinner. It was a joy to see him again and we had an incredible talk. After hours of talking and getting more comfortable, he said: ‘Well, tell me about your life. What are you doing? How are you? There are some news that circulated, is it true or false? How are you with that?’ Then he said to me: ‘Well, let’s get to the point. Is it true that you want to say goodbye, to play a match in Argentina?’I told him how I felt: ‘The only way this can go forward is if you want to accompany me that day. If not, I will not be emotionally prepared to face this and I am not convinced either.’ And he told me, like that, forcefully: ‘Count on me for whatever I can help you with. I have the Olympic Games, I have Saudi Arabia [the exhibition tournament], tournaments, this, that, my family, but somehow I will accompany you in your last moment on the court.’ And for me it was very emotional."