Del Potro to take on Djokovic in NY final
Nadal forced to retire with injury vs Argentine in semi • Novak eyes back-to-back majors
neW yorK (reuters) – no. 1 seed rafael nadal lost the first two sets to juan martin del potro in the us open semifinals 7-6 (3), 6-2 Friday night, then retired when the pain in his right knee was too much to tolerate.
as a result, the third-seeded del potro advanced to his first us open final since he won it in 2009. the argentine will face sixth-seeded serbian novak djokovic, who cruised past no. 21 Kei nishikori of japan 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in 2 hours, 24 minutes.
djokovic, the winner at Wimbledon in july, will be playing in his eighth final in new york, tying the open era record shared by Ivan lendl and pete sampras. djokovic has won only twice, most recently in 2015.
nadal and del potro traded breaks in their first set before the top-ranked spaniard received treatment on his knee seven games into the set. the set went into a tie-breaker, which del potro won handily.
medical treatment on the knee in the second set didn’t seem to relieve nadal’s pain, and it was clear he was having a hard time moving on the court. nadal long has suffered from tendinitis and has missed considerable time in his career because of it.
nadal, the defending champion at the event, called it quits before the third set could begin, just a bit under 2 hours into the match.
“I waited as much as I can,” said nadal, who has won 17 Grand slam titles, including three at the us open. “as you can imagine it is very difficult for me to say goodbye before the match finished.”
nadal is the first player to retire in the men’s semifinal at the us open in the open era.
he said what the fans saw in the second set “wasn’t tennis” and described it as “one player playing, one standing on the side of the court.”
nadal had played more than 16 hours of matches heading into the Friday semifinal. that included an epic 4-hour, 49-minute quarterfinal match tuesday night against austrian dominic thiem, played in wilting heat and stifling humidity.
the 32-year-old nadal said he didn’t think that match affected his play on Friday and added he didn’t know when he’d be back on the court.
“It’s not an injury that tells you three weeks off and you’re back,” he said in his post-match news conference. “It’s not an injury that tells you six months off and you’re back.”
For his part, del potro said it was tough to watch nadal suffer during the match, though he expressed his excitement to advance.
“I cannot believe that I will have a chance to play another Grand slam final here, which is my favorite tournament,” he said. “I’ve been fighting with many, many problems to get in this moment. I’m here now. It will be a difficult match, of course. but anyway, I think I’ve been doing a good tournament. and in the finals, anything can happen. If I win, great. If not, I’ve been playing a great tournament and I will be happy.”
djokovic has also played a great tournament, winning each of his last 13 sets. In beating nishikori on Friday, the 13-time Grand slam winner saved the two breaks point he faced while converting four breaks of his own on 17 attempts.
nishikori, who was playing in the semifinals of a major for the first time in two years, struggled to keep pace, committing 51 unforced errors.
“I was putting constant pressure on him, trying to move him around the court, take away the rhythm from him, not give him the same look always,” djokovic said afterward. “the match was really, really good from my side.”
“I was trying to give 100 percent, but he was playing very solid,” nishikori added. “maybe if he wasn’t novak, I might have chance to play a little better. but he was playing great tennis today. Credit to him.”
djokovic barely played in the second half of 2017 as his ailing body demanded a lengthy hiatus and the rejuvenated serb now appears hungrier than ever, intent on making up for lost time by claiming a second Grand slam title of the year.
“there was always part of me that believed I could come back relatively quickly to the level of tennis that I once was playing,” djokovic told reporters.
“but at the same time, I felt like the six months off served me very well to find new motivation, inspiration, to recharge my batteries.”
the 31-year-old serb, clearly enjoying the fruits of his labor, delivered a comprehensive performance against nishikori as he served impeccably, was solid with his returns and dominated from the back of the court.
Few would have predicted such a remarkable season for djokovic, who lost in the fourth round of the australian open, underwent surgery on his right elbow and fell at the first hurdle in Indian Wells and miami on his return.
but djokovic, who looked on from the sidelines while Federer and nadal padded their Grand slam totals, now stands one victory away from winning Wimbledon and the us open in the same year for the third time in his career.
“these are pinnacles of our sport: majors. It’s where you want to play your best,” djokovic added. “there is something special about them.
“especially the top players, they always try to set their own form, so to say, around the Grand slams because that’s where they want to play their best.”
djokovic is 14-4 in his career against del potro, including 2-0 at the us open (2007, ‘12), with both wins coming in straight sets.
“he’s a big-match player,” djokovic said of his opponent. “he’s a Grand slam winner. he’s playing the tennis of his life.”
late saturday night, serena Williams and naomi osaka faced off in the women’s final in a match that began after press time.
For Williams, victory would allow her to tie margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 Grand slam titles. but standing in her way was a determined osaka eager to become the first japanese player to win a singles major. On TV: US Open men’s final: novak djokovic vs juan martin del potro (live on eurosport at 11 p.m.)