Del Potro: "I have never had so much anxiety in my entire career"

Raquel Bermúdez Rodríguez | 1 Dec 2024 | 16.43

Del Potro: "I have never had so much anxiety in my entire career." Photo: Getty

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Juan Martín Del Potro continues to absorb every moment of such a special day today. Despite the fact that the Argentine has already retired from official matches, the former US Open champion and former world number three is getting ready to bid farewell to the world of tennis with an exhibition match against Novak Djokovic. In the pre-match press conference, Delpo acknowledges the uniqueness of his journey, as well as discussing his rivalry with the Serbian.

How have you experienced this last week?

"It's a very special day for me, marking the end of my whole career. It's a very special day for me. I've never had so much anxiety, so many nerves, throughout my entire career, but the day has arrived. Novak has arrived, who was very generous to accept to be here with me at this moment, a day I will always remember. I hope people receive him as the athlete and person he is, and that we can put on a good show."

The struggles of the past seasons

"These last few days, I've been opening up my heart a bit more and sharing my reality from the past years. I've had a wonderful career. It's very difficult to compete with Nole, to play Grand Slam finals against them, but for me, it's a privilege to have had my whole career in the same era. There were different difficult things to handle that came up, but today is such a special day that I want to enjoy it. Perhaps I will never have an event as grand as this one again. All of that is part of my story, but the beautiful memories and victories I achieved outweigh anything else. My story is more unique because of those injuries I had. When I was at my best level or competing with them in the rankings, something would happen, and I had to start over from scratch. It's part of my story, and that makes it a bit more special."

Which match from your rivalry with Djokovic would you replay?

"I believe the one I enjoyed the most winning against him was in Rio, and the toughest was when he defeated me in the final of the 2018 US Open. They were very special."

Summary of your major achievements

"Starting today, I might begin to grasp all the achievements I was able to accomplish. When you're in this world, everything passes by so quickly that it's hard to enjoy the moments. It was a great pride for me to have won important titles in the same era as Novak, Roger, and Rafa. They are in a different dimension. Novak has completed the circle of our sport, something unique in history. To have him by my side is very special, and I'm extremely grateful for what we're experiencing. Those titles, in a few years, I'll be able to say: 'I snatched them from them and they are in my house'."

The end of an era?

"Today is the end of my career, not Novak's. He is still the best, tennis-wise there's no one like him. When he's in good physical condition, he has shown he can win at the Olympics, reach Grand Slam finals. I don't want to think about how much longer Djokovic will be around. I watch little tennis, but what I do watch are his matches. We need to enjoy him without thinking about any of that."

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Del Potro: "Nunca he tenido tanta ansiedad en toda mi carrera"