Juan Martin del Potro pulled off a stunning quarterfinal win Wednesday night over reigning Australian Open and Wimbledon champion Roger Federer.
With booming serves, fierce forehands and a backhand that refused to break down, del Potro defeated Federer in four sets, 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(8), 6-4. This just two days after an ill del Potro came back from two sets down to No. 6 seed Dominic Thiem.
This isn’t del Potro’s first big win over Federer in Flushing; he also beat him in five sets in the US Open’s 2009 final.
The victory sets up a semifinal between del Potro and world No. 1 Rafael Nadal.
“He’s a lefty guy, so he has [a] chance to find easily my backhand,” del Potro said about the coming match. “So I don’t know what’s gonna be my strategy for that match. But for sure I will try to make winners with my forehands and don’t run too much, because my legs are tired (smiling).”
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The first 10 games were very clean. Both players had more winners than unforced errors, and there were no breaks of serve. Then, at 5-5, Federer double-faulted into 30-40 situation. On the break point, del Potro threaded a crosscourt forehand pass right through the minuscule space between Federer and the far sideline.
Del Potro held to 15 in the next game, taking the first set 7-5.
Federer seemed shaky serving in the first game of Set 2, but he managed to hold with an ace. In del Potro’s first service game, The Gentle Giant set Federer up with a break point by missing a down-the-line backhand wide. But, due to a flubbed Federer backhand return, del Potro was able to fight it off easily with a short forehand winner. He went on to hold for 1-1.
Up 2-1, Federer took a 0-40 lead of del Potro’s serve. Federer, with an inside-out forehand pass that del Potro could barely get the frame of his racket on, broke at love. He then consolidated for a 4-1 advantage.
Federer maintained his lead for the remainder of the set, winning it 6-3 to even the match at one set each.
But his start to Set 3 was not the one he wanted. Down 0-1 and 30-40, he double-faulted, giving up an early break. In the next game, del Potro held his serve to biggen Federer’s hole to 0-3.
Federer then saved a break point to get out of the Bagel Zone for 1-3.
Later on, del Potro was serving from up 4-2, but facing a break point. Del Potro missed his first serve, and the Arthur Ashe crowd cheered inordinately loudly. He then missed his second as well, letting the set get back on serve. Federer consolidated make it 4-4.
Four games later, the set went to a tiebreak, in which del Potro lost his serve on the first point by letting a forehand fly long. But del Potro, with a crosscourt backhand return pass winner, broke Federer to put the tiebreak back on serve. On the next point, though, del Potro netted a backhand, giving Federer the break once again. The players traded breaks yet another time, and Federer led 5-4 with the ball in his hand.
But then del Potro hit a forehand return that skidded off the baseline, and Federer was unable to hit it back. The score went to 6-6. On the next point, del Potro double-faulted, giving Federer another set point on his own serve, which he failed to convert. 7-7.
Federer, behind 8-9, decided to serve and volley. He missed the first volley, a backhand one that went long, and lost the tiebreak 8-10. This gave del Potro a two-sets-to-one lead.
Vaaaaaamos Delpooooooo!
— Manu Ginobili (@manuginobili) September 7, 2017
At 2-2 in Set 4, Federer fought off two break points, letting out a big “Come on!” after the second. But del Potro later in the game got his hands on another break point. That one he converted with a crosscourt two-handed backhand pass for a return winner. Del Potro then held, putting himself two games from a semifinal versus Nadal.
Federer, serving to stay in the set while trailing 3-5, fell behind 0-30, but got out of the game safely. Still, the match was on the racket of del Potro, who got to serve for from 5-4 ahead.
With a forehand winner down the line, del Potro finished Federer off in four sets.
