WATCH: Roger Federer shares heartfelt message for ‘special person’ Juan Martin del Potro after the Argentine’s farewell match

Juan Martin del Potro played in an exhibition match against Novak Djokovic to leave behind some bad memories of his injury struggles.

WATCH: Roger Federer shares heartfelt message for ‘special person’ Juan Martin del Potro after the Argentine’s farewell match

Roger Federer called Juan Martin del Potro a special person (Images via X)

Roger Federer has shared a heartwarming message for Juan Martin del Potro after the Argentine played an exhibition match titled, ‘The Last Challenge’, to bid farewell to tennis for the one last time. In front of roaring fans amid an emotionally charged atmosphere at the Parque Roca stadium in Buenos Aires, del Potro defeated Novak Djokovic 6-4, 7-5.

After turning pro in 2005, four years later, he won his first and only Grand Slam title. He defeated Federer at the 2009 US Open final which was one of the seven matches he won against the Swiss maestro in their 25 meetings. After his win over Djokovic in the exhibition match, Federer, in a video message, had heartfelt words for the ‘special player.’

YouTube video

It’s Roger here. I hope you are doing well. Listen, I know that this is a special moment for you. You were a special player and a special person for the tennis world. I hope that the moment right now is one that you’re celebrating, it shouldn’t be sad. I hope it’s not like that. We all need to move on in life and I think the best is yet to come for you, Juan Martin. I hope that the people in Argentina are celebrating you right now and that with Novak, you are having a special moment.

Roger Federer said

Watch the video here:

FS Video
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Juan Martin del Potro kisses the net after match against Novak Djokovic

Juan Martin del Potro broke down in tears several times during his match against Novak Djokovic. Following the match, both were emotional as they embraced each other at the net after which Del Potro kissed the net.

Juan Martin del Potro
Juan Martin del Potro (Image via X)

Watch the video here:

The 2009 US Open champion has won two Olympic medals, a bronze at the 2012 London Olympics and a silver in Rio in 2016. Del Potro also guided Argentina to a Davis Cup win in 2016.

The 2009 US Open made him the only player outside of the Big 3 to win a major between the 2005 Australian Open and 2012 US Open. En route to that victory, Del Potro also defeated Rafael Nadal in the semifinals.

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Del Potro’s last match on the ATP Tour was at the 2022 Argentina Open. Injuries were the reason behind del Potro’s fall from the top which eventually forced him to leave tennis. He also recently revealed in a video how he still struggles to do his day-to-day activities due to pain from the injury.