NEW YORK — Roger Federer and Juan Martin del Potro will renew acquaintances in a US Open quarterfinal match on Wednesday, but their paths to this round could not have been more different.
Playing before a capacity crowd on the Grandstand court, Del Potro staged one of the greatest comebacks in recent US Open memory, coming from two sets down and fighting off two match points before beating No. 6 Dominic Thiem, 1-6, 2-6, 6-1, 7-6(1), 6-4, in 3 hours, 35 minutes.
Del Potro, who battled an illness for the last two days and looked like a member of the Walking Dead for the first two sets, finally prevailed when Thiem double-faulted on match point. The ball was called in but Del Potro challenged it and the replay showed it was wide.
Playing in Arthur Ashe Stadium before a crowd that could hear the oohs and aahs from the nearby Grandstand, Federer later polished off No. 33 Philipp Kohlschreiber, 6-4, 6-2, 7-5 in 1 hour, 50 minutes. Federer improved to 12-0 in his career against the German and is now 42-0 against his last three opponents — Mikhail Youzhny, Feliciano Lopez and Kohlschreiber. The 19-time major champion and five-time US Open winner also moved into his 12th US Open quarterfinal.
“It’s great to see [Del Potro] back on the tour,” Federer said on court after the match. “He’s had a rough ride for a lot of years with his wrists, to see him back on tour and happy and winning and beating the best players in the world like Thiem is wonderful for our sport really. And he’s a good guy. I played him this year in Miami and so to play him again here after our epic final in 2009, it’s great for both of us and so I think we’re both looking forward to it. At least I am.”
“I kept on going because of all of you today.”@delpotrojuan saves 2 match points in front of a crowd that may as well have been his home. pic.twitter.com/c5LePAIM2h
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 5, 2017
Del Potro must now recover in two days time to play Federer, a rematch of the 2009 US Open final where Del Potro beat Federer in five sets to win his only Grand Slam tournament and snap Federer’s 40-match winning streak in New York. Federer is 16-5 all-time against Del Potro.
“Maybe I have the chance to play Roger again in this tournament which is special for me and I would like to play my best tennis,” an exhausted and relieved Del Potro said in his on-court interview.
Asked how his epic victory over Thiem compared to his 2009 Open championship, Del Potro joked, “Well, I would like to have the trophy after these five [actually four] matches, but it’s not the same. I’m so happy going through after playing this great match…I enjoy it a lot.”
He added that the energy from the crowd helped him overcome his illness.
“I was sick the last two days and I came here trying to play as better as I can,” he said. “When I saw all this crowd cheering for me…I was trying to feel better every game. I think I fight because of you guys and thank you very much.”
“He’s certainly one of the most dangerous players in the world so hopefully he’ll feel better and he’ll let it all hang out,” John McEnroe said on air of Del Potro’s recovery time for Federer.
.@rogerfederer defeats Kohlschreiber 6-4, 6-2, 7-5 to set up a highly anticipated QF against Del Potro!#USOpen pic.twitter.com/0MbQnlGhsj
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 5, 2017
Federer took a medical break after the first two sets against Kohlschreiber to get “a bit of a rub on my bottom” — not his balky back — he told ESPN’s Brad Gilbert after the match.
Later, during his post-match interview, he added: “I felt my muscle getting tight at the back. I don’t know, my quad I guess.”
During the timeout, he learned that Del Potro had been involved in an epic.
“I’m not allowed to look at my phone and they were not showing the score, and then when I went out for my treatment, I checked the score because I heard all these roars and so I figured they were in the fifth set,” Federer said. “And that’s when I knew that Del Potro had won and that’s it.”
Earlier on Labor Day, No. 1 seed Rafael Nadal had little trouble dispatching Alexandr Dolgopolov of the Ukraine, 6-2, 6-4, 6-1. Nadal will next play Russian Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals after Rublev advanced over No. 19 David Goffin, 7-5, 7-6(5), 6-3.
“Well, of course he’s young, but at the same time, he’s in quarterfinals,” Nadal said of the 19-year-old Rublev. “He has a chance to be in the semifinals for the first time of his career, and I have been there couple of times.
“So of course he has things to lose. And of course I have things to lose and things to win. But I tell you one thing, no, this sport is about victory. This is not about defeats. No, at the end of your career, nobody remember your defeats, your losses. People remember the victories. For everybody is everything to win, you know. And that’s it.”
If Nadal and Federer both win on Wednesday, it would set up the match everyone in tennis has been waiting for: a semifinal showdown between the two legends on Friday.
They have played multiple times across every other major except the US Open, and their first meeting in New York would also determine the world’s No. 1 ranking.
Nadal said before the tournament he would prefer to play someone other than Federer in the semifinals — if both men got there — and he’s sticking by that sentiment.
“I gonna repeat,” he said. “Remain one match for me and two matches for him. You can ask me about that in two days if I am here with victory, and I will answer you with a lot of great pleasure if that happen. I will be very happy to be in that semifinal if that happen.
“Now I have Rublev in front. Maximum respect for him and going to be a tough one. He played already great matches, winning against Dimitrov, against Goffin in straight sets. Is not a moment to talk about Federer for me.”
Photo: US Open
