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Tears flowed, as Novak Djokovic's Olympic heartbreak met Juan Martin del Potro's exultation in Rio

RIO DE JANEIRO – Whatever Novak Djokovic said to Juan Martin del Potro as they embraced at the net following an extraordinary first-round match at the Olympics Sunday night, he reduced the gentle giant to tears.

For Djokovic, who came out on the short end of the 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2) encounter and saw his gold-medal dreams go up in Olympic-sized flames a week before he hoped, the tears came just before he left the centre court.

He was almost in the clear before his composure failed him, almost in the tunnels under the stadium where he could weep without the eyes of the sporting world upon him.

The incredulous tears of joy from the unexpected victor, followed by the devastated tears of a man who wanted something so mightily that it seemed almost unfathomable he wouldn’t get it, made for a moment that may stand as the marquee drama at the tennis.

Even when they hand out the medals to the last men standing this week, the emotion might not be any more palpable.

“It was great atmosphere in there. It was an unbelievable match for me. I hit my forehand as hard as I can, I made a lot of winners. I served well and my backhand was okay, just trying to put the ball in court and playing good slices as well. I didn’t expect to beat Novak tonight, so it was an amazing night for me,” del Potro said.

It was a cruel first-round draw to begin with as both players looked to this Olympics as a career moment. For Djokovic, a defining one. For del Potro, one that harkened his return to the elite in the game.

The last time either stepped on an Olympic court, four years ago in London, there were tears as well as del Potro defeated Djokovic for the bronze after dropping a 19-17 third set to lose to Roger Federer in the semi-finals.

But it was so very different. Del Potro, then 23, had come back from his first wrist surgery but since then has coped with the very real possibility that his career might be over in his mid-20s. Still now, as he makes his way back, his true ATP Tour ranking stands at No. 141.

“I think this victory is more big for me (than London), the biggest, because I know how tough it was to come back from tennis after my third surgery on the wrist, and I think I played one of the best matches of my career,” he said.

For Djokovic, one of the best in the world in 2012 but well behind Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in the public’s heart and not nearly the dominant force he now is, the Olympics were something he had pointed to all season. "It would be probably ranked as one of the highest, or the highest achievement of my career that I would have potentially," he said before it all began.

“Delpo was the better player. In the deciding moments he just came up with some extraordinary tennis and I have to congratulate him. It’s obviously sad and disappointing from my side to go out in the tournament this early, but on the other hand I’m glad that a good friend of mine and somebody that has struggled a lot the last couple of years with injuries is back and plays at this level,” he said.

Only two men, Nadal and Andre Agassi, have won the so-called Golden Slam – all four major Grand Slam titles, plus Olympic gold. He finally put that first French Open trophy on his well-endowed shelf two months ago and a premature loss at Wimbledon allowed him to rest, get on the hard courts a little earlier and prepare perfectly for Rio with a title at the Rogers Cup in Toronto last week.

Now, suddenly, it was all over. Djokovic earned a bronze medal when he was 21 in Beijing, was denied in London and will be 33 when the next Games roll around in Tokyo in 2020.

He is still alive in the doubles with countryman Nenad Zimonjic, but that wasn’t the one that would put him in the history books. And that’s what the tears were about.

The stage was set from the moment the players walked onto the centre court, the last scheduled match of the men’s singles first round and by far the most hotly anticipated.

Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina reacts after victory against Novak Djokovic of Serbia in their singles match on Day 2 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Tennis Centre on August 7, 2016. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina reacts after victory against Novak Djokovic of Serbia in their singles match on Day 2 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Tennis Centre on August 7, 2016. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

As del Potro took to the court, there was a nice ovation for him. There is history between the Argentines and the Brazilians; on the sporting field, at least, there is no love lost. But del Potro cuts such a sympathetic figure, and as the biggest tennis star on this continent has a major following. The fans welcomed him warmly.

Then came Djokovic. The roar was deafening.

Perhaps that wasn’t surprising to the people who live here but for visitors, to see Djokovic greeted in such a way outside Serbia is unexpected to say the least.

It turns out, after speaking to some of the Brazilians, that Djokovic and Federer are tennis gods here – even more than Nadal. You get the sense Djokovic knows this, that putting the Brazil bracelet on his wrist to curry favour with the locals wasn’t even necessary.

Of course, he did it anyway, because he’s Djokovic.

Del Potro turned back the clock Sunday and yet, the crowd was urging Djokovic on until the emotional hug at the net.

With that, the favourite is out, and del Potro is in a race against the clock. He began the day stuck in an elevator for 40 minutes before being rescued by a couple of Argentine handballers. It might be tough to sleep Sunday night and there’s no time to recover and reset for his second-round match Monday afternoon against Joao Sousa. The victory against Djokovic was sweet, but it wasn’t the ultimate goal.

 

Djokovic almost made it out of the stadium without losing it. Almost. The tears came, and he couldn't stop them. (REUTERS/Toby Melville)
Djokovic almost made it out of the stadium without losing it. Almost. The tears came, and he couldn't stop them. (REUTERS/Toby Melville)

Djokovic and del Potro have history. As much as competing tennis players from opposite sides of the world can be, good friends. They’re not “please be my son’s godfather” friends. But their relationship goes well beyond, “Hey, if we run into each other maybe we can catch dinner” friends. There’s a lot of man-love there.

When the two found each other on the soccer field at Indian Wells five months ago – del Potro’s first big tournament in nearly a year and only his fourth in two years – it was a love-in.

The looks of joy on both their faces that day were in stark contrast to the looks on their faces at the net Sunday night.

“No doubt it’s one of the toughest loses in my life, in my career. It’s not easy to handle, especially now just after the match. The wounds are still fresh,” Djokovic said. “You know, you’ve got to deal with it, it’s not the first or last time I’m losing a tennis match but the Olympic games (are) completely different.”

The courts in Rio are slow as molasses – tailor-made for Djokovic to grind any opponent into submission as the surface helps negate the power. The renowned del Potro forehand resisted any such muting.

Maybe Djokovic also was just a little bit paralyzed by how much he wanted it.

The man who expends so much time and energy trying desperately to be loved – one of the things that most turns off tennis fans who don’t like Djokovic – didn’t have to try in Rio. He is already revered. It would have been a perfect setting in which to earn the gold and receive the outpouring of true love that has so long been slightly out of his grasp.

Did this make him squeeze the racquet a little tighter? We’ll never really know.

But as he made a second trip to the mixed zone late Sunday to speak to the English and Serbian print media (he didn’t have to do this; he had fulfilled his obligations by doing the television part of the process a little earlier) he was as gracious in defeat as he had been a little earlier on the centre court.

“I don’t know how to thank (the fans). This kind of atmosphere I experienced a few times in my life, mostly when I’m in my country. This felt like I’m in my country. I felt Brazilian. It was amazing. I thank them with all my heart. They were giving me strength,” he said. “Credit to Delpo. It was another experience, another wonderful tennis match to be part of, even though I lost.”

Everything had aligned to make this Olympics the crowning moment of the Serb’s incredible career. Everything was right out of a movie script for him.

The truth was so much heartbreaking than fiction.