Resurgent Del Potro in Roger’s way
WHEN Roger Federer made his triumphant tour of interview obligations after reaching the US Open quarter final, he did so wearing a tracksuit bearing the insignia of the Laver Cup. As he prepares to face the resurgent Juan Martin del Potro — and afterwards possibly Rafael Nadal — this was just another reminder of the extraordinary hold he continues to exert over the game at the age of 36. The week after next in Prague he will help host the inaugural Laver Cup, a tennis version of golf’s Ryder/President’s Cup, pitting the men of Europe against the Rest of the World. The creators and chief driving force behind it are Federer and his management company. It is starting to look entirely plausible that by the time he headlines the event he will do so as the holder of three Grand Slam titles. The Swiss will be the favourite tonight, in part because Del Potro will surely have some physical reaction to the magnificent five-set comeback that saw off the No 6 seed Dominic Thiem. Federer himself briefly needed precautionary off-court treatment around the lower back/ buttock area during his fourth-round win over Philipp Kohlschreiber. The Swiss might find himself in the unusual position of being less than crowd favourite when he faces the hugely popular Del Potro. The Argentinian has suffered chronic wrist problems since beating Federer in the 2009 Flushing Meadows final, aged just 20. That defeat still rankles with Federer, who is above all a deceptively ferocious competitor. ‘I felt that I left that match with a lot of regrets,’ he admitted. ‘It feels like one of those matches I would like to play over again. I feel like I would probably win it somehow.’ Nadal faces 19-year-old Russian Andrey Rublev, the youngest quarterfinalist here for 16 years. Spanish 12th seed Pablo Carreno Busta last night became the first man through to the last four, beating Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman 6-4, 6-4, 6-2. Jamie Murray’s reign as US Open champion came to an end when he and partner Bruno Soares lost 6-1, 6-2 in the quarter finals against 12th seeds Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau.