Novak Djokovic and Juan Martín del Potro shared a practice court in New York.

 

Juan Martín del Potro Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic and Juan Martin del Potro shared a practice court together at the US Open. (Image: ESPN)

Juan Martin del Potro revealed Novak Djokovic’s emotional Olympic Games win over Carlos Alcaraz brought him to tears.

Djokovic turned back the clock and served up a dominative showing at Roland-Garros earlier this month, waltzing his way to Olympic gold.

Beating 22-time Grand Slam champ Rafael Nadal en route to the final, Djokovic secured his first-ever gold medal at the Games with a straight sets win over man of the moment Alcaraz.

It came just weeks after Alcaraz swept a frail-looking Djokovic aside in a one-sided Wimbledon final, with many questioning whether the Serb’s time at the top table was coming to an end.

Djokovic silenced those doubters with his gold-laden trip to the French capital – so much so it brought Del Potro to tears.

Speaking in New York for the US Open, the Argentine ace admitted: “He made me cry the other day when he won the gold medal. It was the first tennis match that I cried.”

Djokovic had come close to earning a spot on the top step of the podium before, but it came at the opposite end of his career during the 2008 Games in Beijing.

Olympic agony is a feeling Del Potro knows all too well, having also narrowly missed out on gold at the 2016 Games, with the then 27-year-old losing to Andy Murray in the final.

Tennis - Olympics: Day 9

Juan Martin del Potro had to settle for silver at the Rio Games in 2016. (Image: Getty)

Despite the final defeat, Del Potro still has fond memories of the Rio Games, not least because he got one over on Djokovic in the competition’s opening round – something the pair reminisced about during this week’s practice session.

When asked if winning Olympic gold was the best achievement of his career Djokovic replied with a smile on his face: “My greatest success ever was beating Juan Martin del Potro in the final of US Open in 2018.”

Not one to miss out on the banter, Del Potro chimed in to say: “My biggest success was beating you in Rio.”

Clearly still bitter about the loss, Djokovic responded: “And in London!” Delpo is my nemesis at the Olympic Games. He’s been my slayer.”

The pair were in town ahead of the US Open, which gets underway at Flushing Meadows later this month.

Having refound his best form at the Olympics, Djokovic will enter the final Grand Slam of the year eyeing up a record-extending 25th major title.

Djokovic is unsurprisingly among those fancied to take the crown, but it’s familiar foe Alcaraz who is being tipped as favourite for the men’s US Open title.

Alcaraz, already with four Grand Slam titles to his name, will no doubt be relishing a return to Flushing Meadows, given it was the site of his first major victory two years ago.