When Novak Djokovic exploded in the tennis scene, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer already occupied the circuit. It took years for Djokovic to establish his own fanbase. Sometimes, though paradoxically, the crowd is still awry of the Serb’s presence on the court. However, after 2 decades, with Federer in retirement and Nadal’s upcoming last dance, Djokovic is the last man standing at the top with 24 Grand Slam titles and Olympics Gold. This is not all. The Serbian Ace has also developed some brotherhood around the circuit, which initially seemed impossible! Ask Juan Martin del Potro how deep the brotherhood is, who let go of the other two of the Big 3 to pick Djokovic as the best player ever.

Potro too entered the professional circuit in the same period as the Big 3, in 2002. However, the Argentine captured just 1 Grand Slam, in his list of 22 titles, at the 2009 US Open. He defeated Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer to make his way to the trophy. Hence, the Argentine certainly knows about the players, when he had to choose them in a recent exclusive interview with La Nacion. The newspaper posted a snippet of the interview on their Instagram handle, with the following caption.

“In an exclusive interview with @delpotrojuan, LA NACION asked the former Argentine tennis player who he preferred among the great figures of world tennis. Roger or Nadal? Roger or Djokovic? Look what the “Tandil Tower” replied that besides having been its rivals, they are great friends off the court.” In the video, the Argentine legend is asked to pick the player he prefers. And the result was astounding. Del Potro let go of his inspirations, Sampras and Marat Safin, to pick Nadal first, and then went on to choose Federer. However, when it came to Djokovic, no one stood a chance, not even himself. Look at the conclusion!

• Sampras or Agassi?- Sampras
• Sampras or Roddick?- Sampras
• Sampras or Marit Safin?- Marat Safin
• Marat Safin or Andy Murray?- Marat Safin
• Marat Safin or Rafa Nadal? Rafa Nadal
• Rafa Nadal or Roger Federer?- Roger
• Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic?- Novak tu esperamos (you wait, Novak)
• Novak or Del Petro- Nole (with heart)

The Argentine’s brotherhood for the Serb didn’t escape the latter’s attention. Novak Djokovic went on to share the post in his story, thanking his friend. He said, “Thank you friend,@delpetrojuan see you in Argentina!”

However, this is not the first time that the Argentine legend has picked Djokovic. A few days ago, too, he dished out praises for Novak Djokovic, after sidelining the other two Big 3 players. Moreover, this is a contrasting change in stand from his confession about the Big 3 almost a year ago.

Juan Martin Del Potro’s journey from ‘losing respect’ to discovering Novak Djokovic’s greatness

Del Potro retired from the professional tennis circuit in 2022. For 2 decades, the Argentine faced the Big3 on the court. Though in a lop-sided H2H record favoring them, Potro was able to find a few moments of joy when he bested them occasionally. In 2023, the Argentine detailed the key to defeating the Big-3, and also his response to it.

He said, “But they are going to think that you are going to throw it out because you know that you can beat them, but it will never happen. It happened to me until I lost respect for them and understood that I was only going to have one chance. Because they give you one chance per game. Just one.”

Though that may sum up his view over the years for the Big 3. But something changed recently. The Argentine legend has nothing but respect for the Big 3 and more so for the Serbian Ace. Acknowledging the different personalities of the 3 greats, he said, “They are different, but I can say that Novak is very real. He is very close to any player regardless of the ranking. The others too. Roger and Rafa are super correct, very nice and respectful to everyone, but he maybe got involved in some more way and is a very spontaneous guy.”

What do you think of Del Potro’s statements? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.