The one that got away
Federer falls to del Potro, misses out on first US Open meeting with Nadal
NEW YORK Rafael Nadal was honest as can be before the U.S. Open when asked whether he hoped to face Roger Federer in the semifinals at the only Grand Slam tournament where they’ve never met.
The answer, the No. 1-seeded Nadal said, was no — because he’d rather go up against someone easier to beat.
Well, Nadal did his part to make such a matchup a possibility, overwhelming 19-year-old Russian Andrey Rublev 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 in the quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows on Wednesday. Then Nadal — and the rest of the tennis world — had to wait hours to see whether Federer would hold up his end of the bargain.
But 24th-seeded Juan Martin del Potro took a four-set win away from the No. 3-seeded Federer, 7-5, 3-6, 76, 6-4, dashing many fans’ hopes of seeing Federer and Nadal cross paths at the US Open for the first time.
It was the match everyone really wanted to see — with the exception of the 24th-seeded del Potro and his fans, certainly. But not simply because Federer owns a record 19 Grand Slam men’s singles titles, five at the U.S. Open; Nadal ranks second overall with 15, two in New York.
They offer contrasting styles of play: Federer appears to float around the court at times, while Nadal charges around like the bull that’s etched on the cap he wears after matches.
Nadal called it “something strange” that he’s never played Federer in New York, although they’ve come close in the past. There were five previous occasions when they were a round away from having it happen, but one or the other lost.
The pair has built up a ton of mutual respect. When a reporter asked Nadal what he admires most about Federer on the court and “as a man off the court,” the Spaniard provided a lengthy answer about his rival’s role as an ambassador for their sport and being a great example to kids — although only after trying to lighten the moment by drawing guffaws with this line: “I don’t want to look like I’m going to be his boyfriend, no?”