Juan Martín del Potro is in the final of the 2018 US Open, and in the semi-final against world number one Rafael Nadal, the Argentinian benefited from a 7-6 (3) and 6-2 win.
Juan Martín del Potro got off to a good start and put the favoured opponent from Spain under pressure. The Argentinian gave Nadal little speed during the rally and then suddenly picked up the pace. The result was the early 1-0 break lead.
But also Nadal did not let himself be asked twice, hit back in direct countermove and grabbed the re-break. The tension in the full Arthur Ashe Stadium could be felt from the first rally on and the quality of the two players gave hope of a great semi-final duel.
Nadal, who stood on the pitch in a sleeveless vintage look, positioned himself far behind the baseline on serve del Potro, giving himself enough time to circulate his backhand and use his strong forehand. The 23,771 fans in the world’s largest tennis stadium saw a balanced and close match in which del Potro played with his forehands close to the 170 km/h mark.
However, Nadal countered strongly and was unimpressed by the mighty blows of the “Tower of Tandil”. The world number one was treated on his right knee in the middle of the first set and kept playing with a tape on the patella tendon. At 4-4 and 5-4, both players lost their serve again and del Potro left the chance to win the set at his own serve.
The tiebreak in the round was won by del Potro with a strong 7:3 and took a 1-0 lead in the sets.
The world number one continued to operate and immediately worked his way through two break points, but Nadal fought them off with flying colours. Nadal continued to have problems with his right knee and underwent another medical timeout treatment at 1:2.
Nadal looked badly beaten, could not stand the thundering forehands of his opponent and fell 4-1 behind. In the service game that followed, Nadal said in a discussion with the referee after a controversial rally: “I’ll give up anyway, but that was a bad decision!”. An unusual statement from the fighter from Spain.
Without much resistance Nadal let the second set run out and stepped then with hanging head to the handshake to del Potro. This is the second time this year Nadal gives up at a Grand Slam. At the beginning of the year he had to finish the match prematurely at the Australian Open.
For del Potro it is the second US Open final of his career and the Argentinean will fight for a second major title on Sunday.