Move over, Fed! Roger bumped off centre stage
DEL POTRO v NADAL IN SPOTLIGHT
WITh a few swipes of his mighty forehand, Juan Martin Del Potro not only beat Gilles Simon, he cleared aside Roger Federer too.
The King of Wimbledon is being forced to relocate to No 1 Court for the first time since 2015, with Centre instead playing home to Del Potro versus Rafael Nadal.
Novak Djokovic against Kei Nishikori is the other quarter-final hosted in Wimbledon’s prestige arena today, meaning a rare demotion indeed for Federer, who faces Kevin Anderson.
Not for 20 matches has the eighttime champion had to play second fiddle. But the scheduling is sound. Djokovic against Nishikori looks an intriguing contest, while Nadal’s duel with Del Potro should be one of the matches of the tournament.
This is the third time in four Grand Slams the pair will meet and though Nadal won in France and America, he has shown vulnerabilities on grass that Del Potro could exploit. Del Potro also bludgeoned Nadal into submission at the Rio Olympics in a thriller, so the scene is set well.
Nadal has been able to enjoy an extra day’s rest due to Del Potro needing to come back yesterday to finish the job against Simon. Bad light brought an end to their match on Monday, so they returned to Court 2 yesterday with Del Potro two sets to one up and in a hurry. But Simon remains an obdurate opponent at 33 years old and contributed his fair share to some exquisite rallies.
Simon would often resort to placing the ball to Del Potro’s backhand, which has previously been affected by a wrist injury. Del Potro kept trying to run round to that phenomenal forehand. It was a great game of cat and mouse.
The Argentine eventually came through 7-6, 7-6, 5-7, 7-6. It had been an extra 70 minutes’ work but Del Potro insisted he felt fresh. Operations have put paid to more appearances at the business end of this tournament but the 29- year- old is performing consistently for the first time since winning the US Open in 2009 and is a real danger to Nadal.
‘I will be in good condition, my body feels OK,’ said Del Potro. ‘It will be a different match than we played in Paris few weeks ago. I’m No 4 in the world, my highest ranking in my career. I will see my level on grass when I play Rafa.
‘Everybody knows the favourites are Roger and Rafa. But the other six players are fighting for that big goal as well. It could be a surprise this year.’