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World No.1 Rafael Nadal will need to continue improving his form line if he is to overcome the story of the US Open, Juan Martin Del Potro in the semi-finals. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from around 8am (AEST).
Del Potro’s comeback story has been one which makes everyone sit up and take notice. After the dizzying heights of winning the 2009 US Open, he spent years out of the sport and has only really started to hit form this year.
Now, he finds himself back at the top of the sport with a semi-final appearance at Flushing Meadows having beaten Roger Federer to book it on Wednesday.
The performance against Federer was as close to complete in a high stakes game as you’re ever likely to see. Del Potro never let up, hit some amazing winners throughout the contest and used every little bit of his power advantage.
It’s been a strong tournament for Del Potro. After three more or less expected wins to get it underway, he had to shake off illness and a two-set deficit in the fourth round to get over sixth seed Dominic Thiem.
Shaking off match points and finding his serve range after such a bad start, where he looked as if he was moments away from retiring shows the incredible fight of the Argentinian which has summed up his career.
It’s his advantage on first serve speed and power he will have to use against Nadal as well. If he can continually serve at 80 per cent, as he did against Federer, no player on tour is going to beat him. The fourth and final set against Federer him lose just four points against serve.
That’s quite an incredible number, and Nadal, like Federer has shown some shaky signs throughout the final grand slam of the year as he tries to live up to the name of the No.1 seed.
Nadal started very slowly in both the second and third rounds against Taro Daniel and Leonardo Mayer respectively. Even though he came back to win both of those matches, it won’t make for any less concerns in his camp.
The Spaniard has found his touch since though, blasting Dusan Lajovic and the prodigiously talented youngster Andrey Rublev out of the tournament in his last two matches.
The match against Rublev was particularly impressive as Nadal wrapped it up inside 90 minutes, dropping just five games in the 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 drubbing.
Nadal’s main problem here comes in the way that Del Potro isn’t a grinder. He will go for the kill quickly, and with one of the most lethal forehands on tour, Nadal must find a counter for it. It’s something Federer failed to do, and he is more suited in a match-up with Del Potro.
Prediction
I have to go the upset. Nadal’s form still has questions hanging over it after the second and third round, and Del Potro looks to be well clear of his illness.
Del Potro in five sets.
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