The Roar
The Roar

Advertisement

Roger Federer vs Juan Martin Del Potro: US Open live scores, blog

7th September, 2017
Start time: Around 10:30am (AEST)
Court: Arthur Ashe Stadium
TV: Live, ESPN
Online: Live, Foxtel app or WatchESPN
Betting: Federer $1.16, Del Potro $5
Overall record: Played 21, Federer 16, Del Potro 5
Last meeting: Miami 2017, 3rd round - Federer defeat Del Potro 6-3, 6-4

Roger Federer last 10 matches: won 9, lost 1
Juan Martin Del Potro last 10 matches: won 7, lost 3
Roger Federer, of Switzerland, in a fourth-round match against Philipp Kohlschreiber, of Germany, at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, Monday, Sept. 4, 2017. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Expert
7th September, 2017
287
3572 Reads

In what could be one of the most entertaining matches of this year’s US Open, two former champions go head-to-head as Roger Federer faces Argentinian Juan Martin Del Potro. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from around 10:30am (AEST).

Fans were less than impressed when the draw came out, showing Federer and Nadal on the same side, meaning they could only clash in the semi-final.

However, we are still on track for that match. While Nadal will have played his match against Andrey Rublev by the time you are reading this, at the time of writing, if Nadal beats Rublev and Federer gets past Del Potro, they will book that semi-final on Friday evening (Saturday morning AEST).

Of course, Federer getting past Del Potro is less than assured. The Argentinian was in the fight of his life during the quarter-finals, after breezing his way through the first three rounds of the tournament.

Following wins over Henri Laaksonen, Adrian Menendez-Maceiras and Roberto Bautista Agut, all in straight sets, he took on the sixth seed Dominic Thiem.

It looked like it was all over for Del Potro as well, who was battling illness and found himself down 6-1 6-2. The turnaround was dramatic though as he discovered a burst of energy, taking the third set 6-1.

His serve and forehand continued firing into the fourth set, and he then held his nerve to win a tense tiebreaker, sending the match to an unexpected fifth set.

It looked like he was cooked in the fifth set as well, struggling to get the better of Thiem, but he eventually did so and took it 6-4.

Advertisement

A special performance doesn’t even begin to describe exactly how good the comeback was, and he will look to use the form and momentum to roll Federer.

Federer himself had a shaky start to the final grand slam of the year, taking five sets to get past Frances Tiafoe and Mikhail Youzhny.

He has hit his stride since though, blasting past two seeded players in Feliciano Lopez and Philipp Kohlschreiber in straight sets. He barely raised an effort in either match, his serve against Kohlschreiber being particularly impressive.

It’s not the biggest serve on tour, but it’s accurate and he will be constantly at Del Potro, who will have enough trouble holding his own serve, let alone breaking that of Federer’s.

Consistency might as well be Federer’s middle name, so it could well come down to a few points. If Del Potro lapses for even a moment, you know the Swiss superstar will be all over him.

The pair have met on 21 occasions with Federer leading the ledger 16-5.

Prediction
Federer should win, but this will be a long, close fight.

Advertisement

Federer in five sets.

Be sure to join The Roar for live scores and coverage of this quarter-final from around 10:30am (AEST) or at the completion of Kaia Kanepi versus Madison Keys and don’t forget to add a comment below.

close