Roger Federer, foiled once again one match from a first-ever US Open match against Rafael Nadal, said he just didn’t deserve to beat Juan Martin del Potro in the rematch of their epic 2009 final
— So much for the first US Open matchup between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Federer failed to live up to his end of the bargain.
Hours after Nadal did his part with an easy-as-can-be victory to get to the semifinals at Flushing Meadows, Federer was unable to join him for what would have been the most-anticipated showdown of the entire two weeks, wasting chances to take control and missing shots he normally makes in a 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (8), 6-4 loss to 2009 champion Juan Martin del Potro on Wednesday night.
Given that he is 36, and Nadal is 31, perhaps it is time for the tennis world to concede that Roger vs. Rafa at the US Open just will never happen.
This is the sixth occasion when they were a round away from playing in New York, but one or the other lost — including eight years ago, when del Potro beat Nadal in the semifinals, then Federer in the final to end the Swiss star’s run of five consecutive titles at the tournament.
This time, Federer entered the quarterfinals 18-0 in Grand Slam play this season, including titles at the Australian Open and Wimbledon to raise his record count to 19 major championships.
But he tweaked his back at a tournament last month, curtailing his preparation for the US Open, and he was not quite at his best for stretches. He needed five sets to win each of his first two matches — and Wednesday, he succumbed to the del Potro’s familiar formula of massive forehands and booming serves.
I did everything well. I served so good. I hit my forehand as hard as I can — Del Potro
Before the US Open began, Nadal was honest as can be when asked whether he hoped to face Federer. The answer, the No. 1-seeded Nadal said earnestly, was no — because he’d rather go up against someone easier to beat.
Well, as it turns out, he’ll face the 24th-seeded del Potro on Friday. It is the first major semifinal for del Potro since 2013; he missed two years’ worth of Grand Slam tournaments until Wimbledon in 2016 because of three operations on his left wrist.
The other semifinal features two men who have never been this far at any major: No. 12 Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain vs. No. 28 Kevin Anderson of South Africa.
Nadal, who won two of his 15 Grand Slam trophies in New York, overwhelmed 19-year-old Russian Andrey Rublev 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 in the quarterfinals, then had to wait hours to see what Federer would do under the lights against del Potro.
Arthur Ashe Stadium was packed, and both men had loud groups of supporters. Federer’s fans cheered del Potro’s faults, considered bad etiquette in tennis. Del Potro’s faction broke into raucous, soccer-style songs of “Ole, ole, ole, ole! Del-po! Del-po!”
There was some sublime shotmaking by each player, but also some real shakiness from the 36-year-old Federer, whose forehand in particular was problematic: 22 of his 41 unforced errors came on that stroke.
The turning point was the thirdset tiebreaker, which Federer was a single point from winning on four occasions. At 6-4, del Potro hammered a good return that caught Federer off-guard, resulting in a forehand into the net.
At 6-5, del Potro delivered a service winner. At 7-6 — set up by a double-fault from del Potro — Federer missed a backhand, and his wife, Mirka, put her hands to her temples, before standing to offer encouragement. At 8-7, Federer’s fourth and last set point, del Potro hit a huge forehand winner.
“I did everything well. I served so good. I hit my forehand as hard as I can,” del Potro said. “And I think we played a great match and I deserved to win at the end.” —