Novak Djokovic recently brought fellow tennis player Juan Martin del Potro to tears and once again triumphed over his rival Carlos Alcaraz ahead of his title defense at the 2024 US Open.
The player Djokovic moved to tears is none other than Argentine legend Juan Martin del Potro, who became very emotional when the Serbian claimed a gold medal in singles at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
“He made me cry when he won the gold medal,” Del Potro revealed during a special practice session at Flushing Meadows. “It was the first tennis match that ever made me cry.”
Djokovic secured the gold by defeating Alcaraz in the final at Roland-Garros, avenging his loss in the 2024 Wimbledon final. Djokovic recently bested Alcaraz once more, this time in an exhibition doubles match. Djokovic teamed up with John McEnroe, while Alcaraz played alongside Andre Agassi.
The Serbian-American pair emerged victorious with a 10-8 win in the unique “Stars of the Open” warm-up event at Flushing Meadows.
Though it was merely an exhibition, the win likely provides Djokovic with a psychological edge as he heads into the final Grand Slam of the year, which begins on Monday. The 37-year-old enters the US Open as one of the favorites, and if he clinches the title, he will surpass Margaret Court to become the player with the most Grand Slam singles trophies in the history of tennis, with 25.
Djokovic’s primary challengers for the title will be Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, the emerging stars of the sport as the era of the Big Three comes to a close. However, the veteran has made it clear that he has no plans to retire anytime soon.
“I don’t have retirement on my mind, to be honest,” Djokovic said in July. “Even though I know a lot of people would love me to retire so this era is done.
“But I think as long as there’s at least one of us left competing, the era is still going. Of course, there’s a change of generations. You have Alcaraz and [Jannik] Sinner—currently, they’re our two best players in the world, deservedly.
“They’re playing at a very high level, particularly this year. They’re very young, and they are going to carry this sport in the future.
“But I’ve been around for the shift of many generations over the last 15 years, and I like to see that.”
Djokovic and McEnroe take a thriller 10-8 over Agassi and Alcaraz! pic.twitter.com/rkaVch0hXx
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 22, 2024
