Del Potro continues upset run

There was no missing Juan Martin del Potro, clad in electric yellow out on the court, at Louis Armstrong Stadium on Saturday afternoon. And there will be no missing the U.S. Open wild-card entrant in the fourth round after he continued his run of terrific tennis with a straight-sets victory over No. 11 seed David Ferrer, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2, 6-3.

Del Potro, the 6-foot-6 Argentinian, has a great record in Flushing Meadows, having won the U.S. Open in 2009. But the 27-year-old was near retirement after three recent wrist surgeries — four total — and having returned to the Tour in February after 11 months away.

“It’s tough to describe this moment for me,” Del Potro said on the court after the match. “I’m so excited to play and show my tennis. After my third surgery, I was really close to giving up. And now I’m playing tennis again. This court, this crowd, this stadium, it means so much to me.”

Del Potro received a wild card from the United States Tennis Association after he captured a silver medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

At age 37, Ivo Karlovic became the oldest man to reach the U.S. Open’s fourth round since Jimmy Con

nors was 39 in 1991, ending the run of 19-year-old American qualifier Jared Donaldson.

The 21st-seeded Karlovic eliminated the 122ndranked Donaldson 6-4, 7-6 (3), 6-3. Jack Sock in the lone American remaining in the men’s draw. Carla Suarez Navarro, the No. 11 seed, advanced with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Elena

Vesnina. Navarro is one of two women to have made it to the second week of each of the four Grand Slams this season.

She next plays No. 5 seed Simona Halep. Andy Murray needed more than three hours, but the No. 2 seed beat Italian Paolo Lorenzi, 7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-2, 6-3, in the third round.