Enthusiastic fans gave Juan Martin del Potro a joyous bear-hug following his dramatic semifinal conquest of Rafael Nadal.

In the aftermath of his grueling four hour, two-minute loss to Andy Murray in the gold-medal match, del Potro showed why he's such an embraceable champion.

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Rather than ruing fatigue, del Potro showed class crediting Murray's mind and piercing returns as the difference in the match.

"I always been positive trying to win the match, for sure," del Potro told the media in Rio. "But against Andy, you never know if you're going to win your serve because he returns unbelievable. The crowds make me run all the time, but I never feel like, 'Okay, I will win the match for sure.'

"Andy was playing really well in important moments. He has experience to put the ball in in that moments. He deserved to win because he were smarter than me in the end of all of the sets."

The 2009 US Open champion said the crowd fueled his run, especially when he felt he was running on fumes

"I cannot describe how I did tonight. For sure, the crowds make me run all the time, one more ball," del Potro said. "I never give up because of them, because I saw my team, I saw all the Argentinian people who came to watch me in the finals. My country was behind me watching on TV. I felt all of these things on court. That's why I tried to never give up and fight until the end point."

The man who has undergone four wrist surgeries in recent years said his goal for the rest of the season is simple: Stay healthy.

"I will play a few more tournaments. After this, I think I have enough tennis for a while," del Potro said with a smile.

Photo credit: ITF Olympic Tennis