Juan Martin del Potro claims Novak Djokovic has won ‘the most difficult trophy’ in tennis after playing him in farewell game

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Novak Djokovic helped his former rival Juan Martin del Potro bow out from tennis as the duo played an exhibition event in Argentina.

Djokovic was praised for taking on Del Potro in his homeland, with the latter officially bringing an end to his glittering career.

The former meanwhile has turned to another legend in Andy Murray to help improve his game, with the duo set to work together in the off-season.

Djokovic finished seventh in the year-end rankings, with the Serbian ending the season without a Grand Slam title.

He lost his only Grand Slam final to Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon, although Djokovic did manage to get revenge on the Spaniard by beating him in the Olympic final.

Juan Martin del Potro makes Novak Djokovic trophy claim

Djokovic did, however, seemingly delay his preparations for the new season by playing Del Potro in his tennis farewell.

And the latter was full of praise for the former, saying on court after the match: “I want to make a separate paragraph for Novak. In March in the United States I asked him if there was a possibility of him coming to Argentina in a year where he had a great challenge, which was to win the Olympic Games with a very tight schedule.

READ MORE: Who is Novak Djokovic? Step inside the life of the 24-time Grand Slam champion

“He immediately said yes because he wanted to return to Argentina after 11 years to be with me and the Argentines. He has all the titles in the sport, but with these attitudes he has the most difficult trophy, which is the love of the people.”

What happened when Novak Djokovic played Juan Martin del Potro?

The farewell event was, of course, all about the Argentine, who somewhat struggled against the Serbian during his career.

Djokovic won 16 of their 20 ATP Tour-level matches, but it was Del Potro who came out on top this time around.

Their exhibition meeting featured appearances from Gabriela Sabatini and Gisela Dulko, with Del Potro beating Djokovic 6-4, 7-5.

READ MORE: Looking back on the first-ever match between Novak Djokovic and Juan Martin del Potro at the US Open

Whether the 24-time Grand Slam champion was playing at his highest level is, of course, up for debate, but the pair played out an entertaining spectacle regardless.

Del Potro was understandably emotional ahead of his goodbye to tennis, with the Argentine kissing his armband that was placed on the net after the match.