US Open: Del Potro denies Federer dream tie against Nadal
September 6, 2017
Rafael Nadal dismantled Andrey Rublev to set-up a semi-final showdown with Juan Martin del Potro, who upset Roger Federer in four sets. In the women's draw, Madison Keys' win has set up an all-American semi-final draw.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/A. Hunger
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A familiar display of brutal hitting from the number 1 seed left Rublev with no reply, as Nadal finished the job in just over an hour and a half to reach the last four at Flushing Meadows for the sixth time.
Nadal dismantled the unseeded Rublev 6-1, 6-2, 6-2.
However, Roger Federer's loss to Argentine Juan Martin del Potro later on Wednesday meant that Nadal and his old rival, who share 34 major titles between them, were once again denied a first-time meeting at the US Open.
"It was a good match," Nadal said. "For Andrey it was his first quarter-finals, so of course he played with more mistakes than usual. But winning two matches with straight sets is important for me.
"This year has been an emotional year. I have been playing very well almost every tournament after some years with some problems in terms of injuries and others from not playing so well. So you appreciate it. Especially late in my career it’s something six or seven years ago I didn’t think about. I’m very happy to be in the semi-finals."
Nadal has dropped just two sets in the tournament so far and was never troubled by his Russian opponent, who hit 43 unforced errors during the contest.
Image: Reuters/USA Today Sports/R. Deutsch
'Lion' del Potro powers past Federer
Not for the first time in his career, Juan Martin del Potro gatecrashed the US Open later on Wednesday, defeating Roger Federer in four sets, 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (10/8), 6-4, and shattering hopes of a dream semi-final tie between the Swiss third seed and Nadal.
After nearly three hours of play before a spellbound crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the Argentine giant repeated his killing act of 2009, where he won the US Open at the expense of Federer.
In a tight fourth set, del Potro broke Federer in the fifth game. From that moment, the Argentine always looked in control, right up until he clinched the win with an unstoppable driving forehand down the line.
"I think it's my home court too," del Potro told the crowd after the match. "You make me feel happy every time I play here and I love your support."
Looking ahead to his semi-final against Nadal, the Argentine 28th seed said: "Against Rafa, hopefully I can repeat the result. I know against Rafa the crowd will be tough for me but I hope you are cheering for me again. He's number one in the world, but with this amazing support anything can happen."
Federer congratulated his opponent for the victory. "Fought like a lion," he said, before conceding that his current form was not good enough to deserve a semi-final place.
When asked about missing out on a first-time encounter with Nadal in Flushing Meadows, the five-time US Open winner said he was focused more on understanding what went wrong in his match, before adding that "it's a pity but Juan Martin deserves it more."
The other men's semi-final will be between South Africa's Kevin Anderson and Pablo Carreno Busta, of Spain. Both last-four matches are on Friday.
Home favorites sweep women's semi-final draw
World number 15 Madison Keys made it an all-American US Open semi-final round in the women's draw for the first time since 1981, after she defeated 418th-ranked qualifier Kaia Kanepi 6-3, 6-3 on Wednesday.
"This means the world to me, I'm so happy to be here. We have four American women playing and that's pretty awesome," she said.
Earlier in the day, Coco Vandeweghe dispatched women's top seed Karolina Pliskova 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 to match her best ever Grand Slam performance.
Vandeweghe raced to a 3-0 lead in the first-set tiebreak, then got an early break in the second set on her way to 3-1 lead, frustrating last year's runner-up with her powerful shots.
"I won the juniors here when I was 16 and dreamed of playing on the real stage," said the 25-year-old after her win, which means that Pliskova loses her world number 1 spot to Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza.
Keys and Vandeweghe join their compatriots Venus Williams and Sloane Stephens in the final four.
mp,dm/ng (Reuters, AP)
US Open: The big one in the Big Apple
"If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere," as Frank Sinatra once put it. This statement could just as easily be applied to the loudest, most demanding tennis tournament in the world, the US Open.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. Samad
The sky is the limit
Nowak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka battled it out on in the men's final on Center Court in 2016. This photo gives you a rough impression of the view you would have had if you had managed to get yourself a ticket for a seat in the nosebleeds. Wawrinka would go on to win this duel.
Image: Getty Images/A. Bello
Arthur Ashe
Arthur Ashe used a wooden racket when he played in the Forest Hills stadium in Queens, New York in 1965. In 1978, the tournament moved to its larger site at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows. The main court, which holds more than 22,000 spectators, is named after Athur Ashe.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo
Pete could do with a bucket...
The matches can be long and the weather is usually hot and humid. This can take a toll on the players. In 1996, a few minutes after this picture was shot, the great Pete Sampras actually threw up on the court during his match against Alex Corretja. We could have shown you that, but you didn’t really want to see it, did you?
Image: Getty Images/S. Botterill
Quiet please!
If you are looking for a quiet game of tennis, the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is not the place for you! It happens to be located close to LaGuardia Airport. If you don’t like the noise you can complain, but making yourself heard could pose a problem...
Image: imago/UPI Photo
When Serena was still a bad girl
"Foot fault," cried the woman on the chair during this 2009 match. Serena Williams was having nothing of it and did her best to make this clear. The line judge jumped out of her chair and…
Image: Getty Images/J. Finney
"I didn't say that!"
…ran to the net and told the match referee, who called the head referee. He ordered Williams’ semifinal match against Kim Clijsters abandoned and awarded it to the Belgian. It was widely reported that Williams had threatened to shove a tennis ball down the line judge’s throat, something that the American denied having said.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/T.A. Clary
Cramp-plagued Marcos Baghdatis
IN 2006, Marcos Baghdatis struggled through a his match against Andre Agassi. Plagued by cramps, he struggled to complete its. Baghdatis is still on the tour, Agassi, of course, retired years ago.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/D. Emmert
Andre's second-last match
The match, in which Baghdatis wound up unable to run around the court was the second last in the career of Andre Agassi in New York. The crowd gave both men a standing ovation after Agassi won 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 7-5. In his 2010 autobiography "Open," Agassi described his pain both on and off the tennis court.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/D. Emmert
Stefanie Graf's backhand
Stefanie Graf rarely made mistakes with her backhand but her forehand was even better. In 1988 she faced Argentina’s Gabriela Sabatini in the US Open final and won 6-3, 3-6, and 6-1. Sabatini went on to have her own line of perfume, but Graf became a legend, helping, along with Boris Becker, to spark a tennis boom in Germany.
Image: Getty Images
A happy Angie Kerber
It would take until 2016 for another German to win at Flushing Meadows. This photo is from September 11, 2016, a day after Angelique Kerber had beaten Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic in the final. Since then, things haven't gone her way. Kerber lost her No. 1 spot in the women's rankings - despite the absence of Serena Williams.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Cj Gunther
Can't forget Jimmy
How could we forget this guy? He was in his prime when US men’s tennis was still powerful and nobody had heard of John McEnroe yet. Jimmy Connors, in this picture no longer using his old metal racket, won the US Open five times. His two-handed backhanders changed the men’s game.
Image: Getty Images/V
Boris won here too...
Here’s another guy we can’t forget. This is Boris Becker after beating Ivan Lendl 7-6, 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 in the 1989 final. The often ill-tempered Lendl went on to become a cool golfer and even cooler coach. Becker is still his happy-go-lucky self. Last year he was appointed the "head of men’s tennis" by the German Tennis Association (DTB).
Image: Imago/Norbert Schmidt
Legendary support
Alexander Zverev (above left) is still looking for his first Grand Slam and he has enlisted former Grand Slam winner Ivan Lendl (right) to help him refine his game. The men's No. 4 failed to make it past the second round in his two previous appearances at the US Open. The 21-year-old German is hoping that Lendl's tactical knowledge will help carry him much deeper in 2018.
