Paris, June 2: Sport is not only about competitiveness but also sportsmanship and Argentine Juan Martin del Potro has every bit of it in him.

During his second round French Open match against Nicolas Almagro, the Argentine came ahead to solace his opponent Nicolas Almagro after the Spaniard had to quit the match midway with tears, due to a knee injury.

The match was tied at a set all and 1-1 in the third when Almagro quit playing, keeping his hands on his knees and head bent before breaking down to the court and weeping badly.

Almagro was sustaining a left knee injury that had made him withdraw from a match in Rome two weeks ago and for a player whose season has been plagued by injuries, it was an intense blow.

The Former US Champion who will face Andy Murray in the next round of French Open also had had many injuries during his whole career. Apparently, it is also his first appearance in French Open in Five years.

Potro has suffered long injuries with a series of wrist injuries and knew what it's like to have a career frustrated by fitness issues.

Del Potro who was friend with Almagro since his childhood days and when he saw this he could not control himself and climbed over the net to console the Spaniard.

The 30th Seeded Argentine helped Almagro back to his seat and picked his backpack for him after the Spaniard threw a jug of water in disappointment. Later Del Potro sat with him and left the court to an overwhelming applause.

Potro said: "I don't feel good after this sad situation. I wish a good recovery to Nico. Hopefully he can feel better very, very soon, because he's a great player and we love to have him on tour.

"And of course it's not easy for me when you have a friend on the other side of the court showing an injury or crying. It was really a bad moment for both of us.

"I tried to find good words for that moment. I said to him, 'Try to be calm'. Try to think about his family, his baby. And sometimes the heart is first then the tennis match or the tennis life. And I think he has everything to fix this problem and come back on tour stronger."

OneIndia News