Juan Martin del Potro dethroned five-time defending champion Roger Federer 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 to capture the US Open on Monday, ending an era to win in his first Grand Slam final.
Firing consistent winners, the 1.98m Argentine giant kept the pressure upon the player many hail as the greatest in tennis history, one he had never beaten in six prior attempts, and completed a dramatic upset after four hours and six minutes.
“A dream came true,” said a tearful Del Potro. “I don’t have words to explain how I feel.”
The shocker made Del Potro only the second South American to win the US Open men’s crown, after countryman Guillermo Vilas in 1977, and denied Swiss world No.1 Federer a 16th career Slam crown.
Sixth seed Del Potro, who turns 21 next week, snapped Federer’s 41-match unbeaten streak on the Flushing Meadows hardcourts to win $US1.85 million ($A2.15 million) and destroyed the Swiss superstar’s aura of US Open invincibility.
Federer was seeking to become the first man since Bill Tilden in 1920-25 to win the American championship six straight times and the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win three straight majors in a season.
“I would like to congratulate Juan Martin on an unbelievable tournament. I had a great one but he was the best,” Federer said.
“I would have never believed I could win five in a row here. It has been an amazing run for me.”
Del Potro led Federer by two sets in the French Open semi-finals before the Swiss rallied for a dramatic five-set victory.
But there was no such escape this time. Federer had no answer.
Federer was pushed into a fifth set for only the third time since the start of his championship run, the other times being against Andre Agassi in the 2004 quarter-finals and in last year’s round of 16 against Igor Andreev.
Del Potro zipped a forehand crosscourt winner past Federer for a break and a 2-0 lead in the final set and denied the top seed on a break-point chance in the third game on his way to a 5-2 lead.
Federer served to stay in the match but found himself down two match points, both squandered by Del Potro with a wide forehand and a netted backhand.
But Federer’s 11th double fault gave Del Potro another chance and he made the most of it, winning when Federer sent a forehand over the baseline.
Del Potro fell to the court on his back and began to cry.
Federer lost his cool as well as his crown, the usually mild-mannered master shotmaker cursing at umpire Jake Garner during a third-set changeover for being told to be quiet.
He rose to break Del Potro and claim the set but could not go the distance, leaving Bill Tilden’s US Open record run of six titles in a row from 1920 through 1925 intact.
Federer struggled with his first-serve percentage, hitting only 50 percent for the match to 65 percent for Del Potro and converting only 5-of-22 break chances.
Federer was two points from taking the second set in the 10th game before Del Potro fought back to break and went on to win the tie-break to level the match.
Del Potro and Federer exchanged breaks in the seventh and eighth games of the third set before Federer held to 5-4 after a failed Del Potro challenge that came far too late for the Swiss star’s liking.
“You have two seconds. He took 10 seconds. He does it all the time,” Federer told Garner as he took a seat on a changeover. “You can’t allow that stuff to happen. Don’t you have any rules in there?”
When Garner asked Federer to be quiet, the superstar erupted.
“Don’t tell me to be quiet, OK,” Federer said. “When I want to talk, I talk. I don’t give a shit what you say.”
Federer followed the outburst by breaking Del Potro to win the third set, the South American’s sixth double fault throwing it away.
In the fourth set, Del Potro denied Federer on two break points in the second game and another in the fourth, then broke at love in the fifth game when Federer sent a forehand wide.
Federer broke back even at 4-4, the deciding point coming when Del Potro netted a forehand.
Del Potro squandered two break points in the 11th game, netting a backhand and sending a forehand long, as they battled into a tension-packed tie-breaker that Federer never led.
Federer lost the first three points, rallied to 5-4, but sent two forehands wide and went to a fifth set at the US Open for only the third time since the start of his unbeaten run.
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