Juan Martin del Potro Win US open final

NEW YORK: Juan Martin del Potro ended Roger Federer’s run of dominance at the U.S. Open on Monday, stunning the top-ranked Swiss great in five sets to win in his first Grand Slam final.

The 20-year-old Argentine prevailed 3-6, 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-2 to snap Federer’s streak of five straight U.S. Open titles. The sixth-seeded del Potro had not beaten Federer in their six previous encounters.

Federer had won 40 consecutive matches at Flushing Meadows. He 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.

Falls apart

Normally so cool, so consistent, so in control of his emotions and his matches, Federer let the title slip from his grasp. Two points from victory against the inexperienced, unheralded del Potro, two points from a record-extending 16th Grand Slam overall, Federer, quite simply, fell apart.

He railed at the chair umpire. His legs grew weary. His double-faults mounted. He could not figure out a way to stop the 6-foot-6 del Potro from pounding forehand after forehand past him. In a result as surprising for who lost as how it happened, del Potro came back to win his first Grand Slam title.

“Can’t have them all,” Federer said.

He had won 33 of his previous 34 Grand Slam matches. And he has made the final at 17 of the past 18 Grand Slam tournaments, 21 overall.

After handing No. 3 Rafael Nadal the most lopsided loss of his Grand Slam career in the semifinals on Sunday, del Potro came back the next day and rattled Federer.

Unfazed

Until Monday, Federer had two wins and five losses in Grand Slam finals against his nemesis, Nadal, and was unbeaten from 13 finals against everyone else. Somehow, del Potro never seemed intimidated by the setting or the man many consider the greatest tennis player in history.

The usually unflappable Federer argued with chair umpire Jake Garner during a changeover, using a profanity and saying, “Don’t tell me to be quiet, OK? When I want to talk, I talk.”

Del Potro, meanwhile, managed to have the time of his young life, high-fiving front-row fans after winning one point, and revelling in the football-style serenades of “Ole!” ringing through the stadium.

The 4-hour, 6-minute match was the first U.S. Open final to go five sets since 1999, and there were no early signs to indicate it would be this competitive — much less end with del Potro down on his back, chest heaving, tears welling, a Grand Slam trophy soon to be in his arms.

Emulates Vilas

Del Potro is the first man from Argentina to win the U.S. Open since Guillermo Vilas in 1977. Vilas was in the stands on Monday, sitting one row behind actor Jack Nicklaus.

Federer took a 3-0 lead in 15 minutes, winning one point by racing about 5 feet wide of the doubles alley for a defensive backhand, then sprinting the other way for a cross-court forehand passing winner that he celebrated by yelling and shaking his fists.

He even took time to watch a replay on a stadium video screen.

Taking advantage

But del Potro eventually got going, swinging more freely and taking full advantage of Federer’s serving woes: 11 double-faults and a first-serve percentage of only 50.

Used to travelling without a full-time coach, Federer generally is quite adept at making mid-match adjustments and dealing with opponents’ switches in strategy. But it was del Potro who realised he needed to put full belief in the strength of his 100mph forehands and not worry about too much else.

That tactic worked, and Federer never found a way to counter it, losing leads in the second set and the fourth set. He was up 5-4 in the fourth, and at 15-30 on del Potro’s serve, Federer needed only two more points to equal Tilden’s record.

Del Potro held steady there, and Federer would never come that close again.