Novak Djokovic pens heartfelt message to Diego Schwartzman after Argentine's emotional retirement in front of home fans

Novak Djokovic penned a heartfelt message for Diego Schwartzman after the Argentine bid tennis adieu following his defeat at the 2025 Argentina Open. The Argentine received an emotional farewell in front of his home crowd in Buenos Aires, where his family and friends joined him.

Schwartzman kicked off his career's final campaign against seventh seed Nicolas Jarry. Though many expected him to fall to the dangerous Jarry, El Peque, as lovingly called by his fans (Meaning 'Shorty' in Spanish), turned back the clock to play his best tennis and oust the Chilean 7-6(10), 4-6, 6-3, to the delight of the crowd, who came out in full force to support their star.

The 32-year-old then played Pedro Martinez and though he tried to embellish his swansong with another glorious win, however, it was not to be. Martinez defeated Schwartzman 6-2, 6-2, bringing an end to his successful career. The Argentine was then honored in an emotional ceremony, which left no dry eye in Buenos Aires.

Diego Schwartzman was also celebrated by many in the tennis fraternity including the likes of Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, Ben Shelton, Denis Shapovalov, and others. Novak Djokovic also joined the above list of players by congratulating Schwartzman on an incredible career via his Instagram stories.

"Dude!! Congratulations on an incredible career 🇦🇷🙌🏼@diegoschwartzman." - translation of Djokovic's message.

Via Djokovic's INSTAGRAM.

He also added another story where the two men can be seen hilariously recreating the 'Que miras bobo' incident involving Lionel Messi following Argentina's win over the Netherlands in the 2022 FIFA World Cup quarterfinals.

Diego Schwartzman later thanked the Serb for his kind words by resharing his Instagram Story.

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"Few know what you do for the sport" - Diego Schwartzman responds to Novak Djokovic's heartfelt message

Diego Schwartzman and Novak Djokovic after the 2020 Italian Open - Source: Getty

Diego Schwartzman reshared Novak Djokovic's story on his Instagram handle and penned a thank you message for the 24-time Major champion, calling him a person 'greater than his sporting accomplishments'.

"Thank you Nole!!! 🐐🐐few know what you do for the sport and that makes you even greater than your sporting accomplishments on the court. It was a pleasure to be able to see you up close these years," a translated version of Schwartzman's message.

Via Schwartzman's INSTAGRAM.

Interestingly, Djokovic was one of Schwartzman's toughest opponents as he couldn't get the better of the Serb in seven attempts. The Argentine played him in the biggest final of his career, the 2020 Italian Open, where the 37-year-old won 7-5, 6-3.

In a recent interview, Schwartzman said he had a hard time in Grand Slams because of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal as the two, more often than not, impeded his path to glory.