When the men’s singles draw was released for Rio, the matchup that drew the most attention was current #1 Novak Djokovic against former US Open winner Juan Martin Del Potro.
This will be a rematch of their Olympic bronze medal match of the London Games in which Del Potro prevailed 7-5 6-4. Del Potro claims that his bronze medal in 2012 is among his greatest career achievements.
Their Individual Roads to Rio
Del Potro, at age 27, has been a tragic figure in men’s tennis the last couple of years. After he dethroned Federer at the US Open seven years ago he has battled a series of injuries in the wrist. He climbed his way back to the top of the game in 2013 but continued problems in his wrist had him sit out for the next two years.
Del Potro recently posted the biggest win of his comeback, beating world #4 Stan Wawrinka at Wimbledon. He would go on to lose the next round to France’s Lucas Pouille in four sets.
Djokovic, at 29, stands as the dominant figure in men’s tennis. He recently completed a career grand slam by defeating Andy Murray in four sets at Roland Garros this year. By doing this he became the first player since Rod Laver to win four major titles in a row.
The biggest question is if Djokovic is able to recover from his disappointing performance at Wimbledon. He’s been known for bouncing back from disappointment well. After all, he backed up his loss at Roland Garros last year by winning Wimbledon a few weeks later. Expect him to show up in Rio with something to prove.
This draw also highlights how unbalanced Olympics draws can be. Radu Albot vs Teymuraz Gabashvili, Brian Baker (also a highly talented player making yet another tough comeback from serious injury) vs Yuichi Sugita, and Ricardas Berankis vs John Millman are also first round matches in Rio.
Djokovic leads the head-to-head 11-3, their most recent meeting being the World Tour Finals in London with Djokovic winning in three sets. Del Potro has beaten Djokovic on the biggest of stages, though, including the London Olympics Bronze Medal Match.
