In the 2016 Olympic Games, del Potro defeated top seed and world no. 1 Novak Djokovic in the first round. It was a huge win for him because he was ranked no. 145 in the world and was coming back from a bad injury. He also defeated João Sousa and Taro Daniel in three sets. Next, he defeated top-20 player Roberto Bautista Agut to guarantee a medal match. He played 2008 gold medalist and the 2016 doubles gold medalist, Rafael Nadal. He defeated him in three tight sets to guarantee a medal. Del Potro played in his first gold medal match against the reigning Wimbledon champion from the previous month, Andy Murray. He lost in four grueling sets in over four hours. However, del Potro said after beating Nadal "I already won silver, that's good enough for me."