Miracle man
NEW YORK, September 5
Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal stayed on course for a possible US Open semi-final showdown with victories on Monday while ailing 2009 champion Juan Martin del Potro edged a thrilling five-setter to make the last eight at Flushing Meadows.
Suffering from the flu, the towering Argentine took some medication early in the match against Austrian sixth seed Dominic Thiem, who won the first two sets.
Saving two match points in the fourth set and with the Grandstand crowd roaring him on, del Potro completed the comeback, sealing a 1-6 2-6 6-1 7-6(1) 6-4 win. “Oh my God, I don’t know (I won). What can I say after a battle like this. I was sick the last two days and I just tried to improve game after game,” del Potro said. “I fought like this because of you guys, so thank you very much,” he added, pointing to the Argentine fans in the crowd.
Del Potro now faces Federer, whom he beat in the final in New York for his only Grand Slam title.
Grudge match
Eight years after losing to del Potro, Federer locks horns with the giant Argentine still convinced he should have won the match which ended his five-year reign as champion. Del Potro was just 20 years old when he downed the Swiss legend but Federer believes that he was the dominant force in that 2009 showdown. “The only time when he was really better, in my opinion, was the fifth set. Obviously that was good enough to beat me that day,” said Federer. “I felt that I left that match with a lot of regrets. Probably feels like one of those matches I would like to play over again.”
Federer leads del Potro 16-5 in their head-to-head record. The Swiss third seed took an easier route into the quarterfinals, firing 11 aces and 39 winners as he despatched Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4 6-2 7-5 in one hour, 45 minutes.
The only worry for Federer would be the condition of his back after he left the court midway through the match for treatment. The Swiss, who started slowly at New York due to the niggling issue, allayed fears after his match. “I just felt something, sort of my muscle being tight at the back,” said Federer. “I wanted to get it done really quickly after the set break. It was more precaution. It’s all good. No problems there. I’m not worried about it.”
World No. 1 Nadal made short work of Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-2 6-4 6-1.
Women’s top seed Karolina Pliskova of Czech Republic routed American Jennifer Brady 6-1 6-0 to set up a match with American 20th seed CoCo Vandeweghe who beat Lucie Safarova 6-4 7-6(2).
American Madison Keys smashed 46 winners but also committed 52 unforced errors in her 7-6(2) 1-6 6-4 win over Ukraine’s fourth seed Elina Svitolina. The 15th seed now faces world No. 418 Kaia Kanepi of Estonia who cruised past Russian Daria Kasatkina 6-4 6-4. Kanepi became only the second qualifier to reach the US Open quarters. — Reuters
Bopanna’s campaign ends
Rohan Bopanna’s campaign ended with defeat in the mixed doubles. Seventh seeds Bopanna and Canada’s Gabriela Dabrwoski lost 4-6 6-3 10-8 to third seeds Hao-Ching Chan and Michael Venus. Meanwhile, in the girls’ singles, Mahak Jain lost 6-3 6-7(5) 6-1 to sixth seed Xin Yu Wang, while Mihika Yadav went down 6-4 4-6 6-1 to Nikki Redelijk. Zeel Desai was ousted by 12th seed Maria Serrano 6-4 6-7(5) 6-3. In the boys’ singles, Siddhant Banthia lost 6-1 6-2 to Danny Thomas. In the boys’ doubles, Siddhant Banthia and Japan’s Shinji Hazawa defeated Lukas Greif and Govind Nanda 3-6 6-3 11-9. — PTI
FACT OF THE DAY
Four American women — CoCo Vandeweghe, Madison Keys, Sloane Stephens and Venus Williams — have entered the quarterfinals of the US Open, a first since 2002
STATOF THE DAY
Russia’s 19-year-old Andrey Rublev, who beat ninth-seeded Belgian David Goffin 7-5 7-6(5) 6-3 to enter the quarterfinals, is bidding to become the youngest semifinalist at the US Open since Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt in 2000 and at a Grand Slam since Rafa Nadal at Roland Garros in 2005. Rublev faces Nadal in the last eight
