One day after his heartbreaking defeat to Roger Federer in the longest three setter in Open Era history, Juan Martin del Potro shook off the disappointment and took the court to battle it out for the bronze medal with former world number 1, Novak Djokovic. Although he trails the Serb 1-4 in their head-to-head record, del Potro showed no signs of intimidation. A crucial break in the latter stage of the opener got him the first set. An increasingly frustrated Djokovic found it difficult to stay in touch with the powerful Argentinean and a break of serve in the opening stages of the second set proved decisive. Some whipping forehands and killer serves were enough to ensure a sensational 7-5,6-4 victory.
"I think I'm the most happy [person in] the world at this moment," said a physically drained, yet overly enthusiastic del Potro "It's our (Argentina's) first medal at this Olympic Games. It's the first time in men’s singles. I think it means a lot for us. I wish a fantastic day for [Argentineans] to celebrate this with me… It's amazing. It's history, I think. It's time to celebrate all together.
"After a really sad day two days ago, it's not easy to recovery and to play these kind of matches. But I had energy in my body, in my heart and that's helped me to play this big challenge. I think I played really close to my best level, like against Federer."
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| Shaking off the disappointment of losing 15-17 to Federer in the semis, del Potro defeated former world number 1, Novak Djokovic, 7-5,6-4 to claim the Olympic bronze medal. |
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