JUAN MARTIN DEL Potro shrugged off sickness to save two match points and defeat Dominic Thiem in a five-set US Open epic, booking a quarter-final showdown with Roger Federer.
Del Potro claimed a heroic 1-6, 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7/1), 6-4 victory over the sixth-seeded Austrian on a rocking Grandstand court, describing it as night he would remember forever.
Del Potro famously defeated Federer in the 2009 final for his only Grand Slam title before his career was almost torpedoed by a succession of wrist surgeries.
Federer, the third seed, eased into the last-eight with a 6-4, 6-2, 7-5 win over Philipp Kohlschreiber, taking his record over the German veteran to 12-0.
Elsewhere, top seed Rafael Nadal claimed his 50th win at the US Open and will meet Russian teenager Andrey Rublev.
In the women’s event, world number one Karolina Pliskova set-up a quarter-final date against America’s CoCo Vandeweghe.
Advertisement
Estonia’s world number 418 Kaia Kanepi also reached the quarter-finals, becoming just the second qualifier to make the last eight.
But the day belonged to Del Potro, who celebrated his win, which came off a Thiem double fault, by stretching out his arms, head facing the night sky, as his legion of fans, many dressed in the light blue colors of Argentina’s famed football and Pumas rugby teams, celebrated wildly.
“Oh my God,” said Del Potro, who had been 2-5 down in the fourth set.
“I was sick the last two days. I came here trying to play the best I can and then when I see this crowd cheering for me, I was trying to play better every game. I will always remember this.”
“I was thinking to retire in the middle of the second set because I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t move well,” he explained later.
“Dominic was dominating the match so easily, but then when we started the third set, I broke his serve very quick, and then I won the set in 20 minutes.
“Then the history changed a lot. I started to see the crowd. I took all the energy from the fans. That’s what I did in the end, just keep fighting.
“I didn’t give up any points from the third until the fifth set. I was ready to win the match in that moment.”
Federer has a 16-5 advantage over Del Potro but they have split their last six meetings.
The 36-year-old Swiss maestro didn’t face a break point against Kohlschreiber with his biggest challenge coming when he needed a medical time-out off court at the end of the second set.
“I needed a rub on my back… or bottom and I didn’t want to do it in front of you guys,” he explained before he turned his attentions to Del Potro.
“It’s great to see him back on tour. He’s had a rough ride with wrist problems. He’s a good guy.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
Del Potro nearly forfeited US Open epic before recovering to book Federer showdown
JUAN MARTIN DEL Potro shrugged off sickness to save two match points and defeat Dominic Thiem in a five-set US Open epic, booking a quarter-final showdown with Roger Federer.
Del Potro claimed a heroic 1-6, 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7/1), 6-4 victory over the sixth-seeded Austrian on a rocking Grandstand court, describing it as night he would remember forever.
Del Potro famously defeated Federer in the 2009 final for his only Grand Slam title before his career was almost torpedoed by a succession of wrist surgeries.
Federer, the third seed, eased into the last-eight with a 6-4, 6-2, 7-5 win over Philipp Kohlschreiber, taking his record over the German veteran to 12-0.
Elsewhere, top seed Rafael Nadal claimed his 50th win at the US Open and will meet Russian teenager Andrey Rublev.
In the women’s event, world number one Karolina Pliskova set-up a quarter-final date against America’s CoCo Vandeweghe.
Estonia’s world number 418 Kaia Kanepi also reached the quarter-finals, becoming just the second qualifier to make the last eight.
But the day belonged to Del Potro, who celebrated his win, which came off a Thiem double fault, by stretching out his arms, head facing the night sky, as his legion of fans, many dressed in the light blue colors of Argentina’s famed football and Pumas rugby teams, celebrated wildly.
“Oh my God,” said Del Potro, who had been 2-5 down in the fourth set.
“I was sick the last two days. I came here trying to play the best I can and then when I see this crowd cheering for me, I was trying to play better every game. I will always remember this.”
“I was thinking to retire in the middle of the second set because I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t move well,” he explained later.
“Dominic was dominating the match so easily, but then when we started the third set, I broke his serve very quick, and then I won the set in 20 minutes.
“Then the history changed a lot. I started to see the crowd. I took all the energy from the fans. That’s what I did in the end, just keep fighting.
“I didn’t give up any points from the third until the fifth set. I was ready to win the match in that moment.”
Federer has a 16-5 advantage over Del Potro but they have split their last six meetings.
The 36-year-old Swiss maestro didn’t face a break point against Kohlschreiber with his biggest challenge coming when he needed a medical time-out off court at the end of the second set.
“I needed a rub on my back… or bottom and I didn’t want to do it in front of you guys,” he explained before he turned his attentions to Del Potro.
“It’s great to see him back on tour. He’s had a rough ride with wrist problems. He’s a good guy.”
- © AFP 2017
Subscribe to The42 podcasts here:
The ‘Scam for Sam’ and other storylines to follow this NFL season
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Juan Martin del Potro Roger Federer Tennis US Open Tennis