US Open 2017: Juan Martin del Potro's confident win over Roger Federer serves as reminder of his class

It’s unavoidable that many will come away from Wednesday night’s quarter-final match between Roger Federer and Juan Martin del Potro lamenting what could have been. Namely, had Federer been able to get past del Potro, he would have set up a first ever US Open encounter between himself and Rafael Nadal. But, as much as observers would have liked to see that one match, del Potro’s win over Federer helped to resolve one of the great “what ifs” of the last decade — what if Juan Martin del Potro had not injured his wrist months after winning his US Open title in 2009. What could he have done to disrupt the stranglehold of the Big Four over men’s tennis? If Wednesday’s match was any indication, Juan Martin del Potro could have significantly disrupted tennis history, had he been luckier with injuries. After four wrist surgeries, del Potro may never regain the pace of his driving backhand, but he has been able to build his game around his still-lethal forehand and serve, as well as a consistent slice backhand and greater facility around the net than he had pre-injury. [caption id=“attachment_4018595” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Juan Martin del Potro proved to be too strong for faltering Roger Federer. AP[/caption] From the start, the quarter-final match had a decided tension to it, with the players and audience well aware that this match was far from a foregone conclusion at the start. While Federer had won three straight matches against del Potro prior to their US Open clash, the two have partaken in some epic matches, including Federer’s comeback from 2 sets to love down en route to his 2009 French Open title, and the tense London Olympics semi-final, in which Federer eked out a 19-17 victory in the third set. The first set began with both players displaying their serving prowess, and, while del Potro had yet to display his famous forehand, he stayed even with the Swiss ace with his strongest serving of the tournament. The players seemed on the verge of a first set tie-break when Federer uncharacteristically double faulted at 30-30, 5-6, giving del Potro the only break point of the set. The Argentine wasted no time, and blasted a forehand past Federer to take the set. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Federer charged back in the second set, with much crisper serving, and changing tactics to volley more, especially to del Potro’s backhand. At the same time, del Potro’s invincible serve began to soften, with more second serves, allowing Federer to dictate more points. After breaking del Potro’s serve to go up 3-1, Federer didn’t look back, and took the set 6-3. So, it was a surprise to see Federer play a remarkably flat 15 minutes to start the third set, and he promptly fell behind 3-0, and then 4-1. But, just as del Potro missed an opportunity to earn a second break of Federer’s serve, Federer showed his competitive spirit and evened the match at 4-4, with a spirited shout of “chum jetzt” — Swiss German for “come on!” And he appeared to carry this momentum into the tie-break, where he quickly took a 4-2 lead. But then, the errors crept back in, and Federer then lost 4 set points before del Potro converted his first set point to take the tiebreak 10-8 and win the third set.

What was most perplexing to see was the type of mistakes Federer was making. During the tie-break, his missed volleys caused even Federer to shake his head. And many were puzzled by Federer’s insistence on aiming shots at del Potro’s dangerous forehand on crucial points, such as the set point Federer lost at 6-4 in the third set tie-break when del Potro rifled a forehand return past him.

While Federer certainly missed plenty of shots on Thursday night, he may have lost the match nearly a month ago in Montreal, where he injured his back while playing in the final of the Rogers Cup against Alexander Zverev. While the 19-time Slam winner was loathe to discuss his back problems, it was telling that he avoided spending much time sitting in his chair on the changeovers during any of his matches in New York. Whether due to rust or compromised health, Federer’s 2017 campaign in New York was marked by a certain sloppiness that has largely been absent over the past few years. In both of his first round matches, it felt like he was lucky to get past his opponents — that his own play had faltered, but he advanced because theirs was worse. With Juan Martin del Potro, Federer knew that he could not depend on his opponent to make mistakes in crucial moments. The fourth set felt almost like an afterthought, as the reality of Federer’s shaky play took root in the crowd. While the most vocal supporters were del Potro’s, Federer enjoys broad crowd support in New York, as he does everywhere. But, there was no denying del Potro’s resolve — he broke early in the fourth set and never looked back. Federer didn’t give up, but the missed volleys and a particularly awful missed overhead punctuated what was a mixed bag of an outing for the Swiss in New York. He certainly battled well, but he simply did not have enough game to get past the stronger players.

Federer himself acknowledged his shortcomings after the match, saying “I struggled too much throughout the tournament, I’m somehow happy to have made the quarters, just found a better guy." And, of that missed Federer-Nadal US Open matchup? Federer opined that del Potro had a “better chance to beat Rafa” in the semis than he did, concluding “Juan Martin deserves it more. I have no place in the semis."

But, save your tears for Federer — he’s still sitting on two Slam titles in 2017, and has had the good fortune to be healthy for much of his career. If anything, the tears that should be shed are tears of joy for Juan Martin del Potro, a player who has won the hearts of so many, with his gentle demeanor and true love of the sport. As he crossed himself and blew kisses skyward, del Potro took in the cheers of the crowd and basked in a moment that could have been replicated many times had fate been kinder to him. But, he was upbeat about his win over Federer, breaking down the past couple of hours perfectly in his post-match interview: “I served really good. I hit my forehand as hard as I could and I played a great match. I deserved to win.” Del Potro’s win adds an interesting wrinkle to the remainder of the tournament — in his 2009 title run, he dispatched Rafael Nadal in three quick sets. Much has changed in the intervening 8 years, but del Potro seems to be in a charmed place, for once, with his escape from 0-2 sets down against Dominic Thiem, and his assured march past Federer on Wednesday. Based on his play on Wednesday, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise to see him playing for his second title on Sunday, and it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.