Rio 2016: Novak Djokovic loses in first round Juan Martin to Del Potro

Novak Djokovic was another big tennis star to suffer an upset at the Rio Olympics.

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Novak Djokovic’s Olympics were over before they ever even began. In just the second day at Rio, the number one ranked tennis player in the world suffered a massive upset loss in straight sets to Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina.

At least Djokovic can take comfort in the fact that he’s not alone. On the first day, Venus Williams lost in singles action to Kirsten Flipkens before she and her sister lost in doubles to a Czech duo. Still, seeing Djokovic lose to the 145th ranked player in the world, and a virtual unknown, is very shocking. And in straight sets, no less.

Perhaps the nerves caught up to him, and the moment proved to be too much. Remember, his best finish at the Olympics was a bronze medal in Beijing. Djokovic is the type of player that’s hard to put away, and someone you expect to see come through even when the chips are down. The match remained close throughout, both sets went to a tiebreak, but everyone expected Djoker to ease through this part of the competition.

Of course, Djokovic isn’t going home yet, since he was able to advance to the second round of doubles action. But even if he wins Gold in that part of the competition, you know that he can’t help but ask what could’ve been. Give credit to del Potro for an outstanding performance, but Djoker just didn’t show up to this one.