Juan Martin del Potro has attributed his sensational Olympic performance to the support he received from the army of Argentine fans in Rio.
Playing in his first final since the 2014 Sydney International after being troubled by a career-threatening wrist injury, del Potro displayed some of his best tennis during his four-hour encounter against Murray. He failed to achieve his golden Olympic dream, but silver is by no means a lesser prize according to the former US Open champion.
“I cannot describe how I did [this] tonight. For sure, the crowd made me run. I saw my team, all the Argentinian people who came to watch me in the finals.” The tired Argentine said shortly the Olympic final.
“My country was behind me. I felt all of these things on the court. Too many things in only one week. But this will be for the rest of my life in my mind.
“Now I have a silver medal, which means a gold for me. I cannot believe I bring another medal for my country.”
Del Potro’s run in Rio has excited Argentinian tennis with the prospect that he is finally returning to the form that took him to his maiden grand slam in 2009. The tennis world is fully aware of how much talent the 27-year-old has, but for Del Potro, his goal is to stay healthy rather than triumphing in the majors.
“My goal is to finish the year without any problems with my wrist.” Del Potro said.
“I am being smart with my schedule and I will play a few more tournaments. After the Olympics I think I have played enough tennis for a while.” He joked.
Following his performance at the Rio Olympics, del Potro has become the first Argentine tennis player in history to win multiple medals at the Olympic Games.
