Juan Martin del Potro on Friday set up a US Open final clash against Novak Djokovic after defending champion and world No. 1 Rafael Nadal quit his last-four clash against the giant Argentine with a knee injury.
Third seed Del Potro, the champion in 2009, was 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 ahead when Nadal retired.
Del Potro is now to face Djokovic, the 2011 and 2015 winner, who reached his eighth final at the tournament and 23rd of his Grand Slam career with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 stroll past Japan’s Kei Nishikori.
Photo: AFP
Djokovic boasts a 14-4 lead over Del Potro in a 10-year rivalry, including two wins without dropping a set at the US Open in 2007 and 2012.
“We have never met in a Grand Slam final. I have tremendous respect for him as a person and a player. He’s a great guy,” said Djokovic, who missed last year’s tournament through injury.
Nadal was devastated by having to pull out, but believes he has not sustained any long-term damage.
He also retired trailing in the fifth set of his Australian Open quarter-final against Marin Cilic in January.
“It’s not a tennis match when one is playing and the other is at the side of the court,” he said.
Nadal had spent the best part of 16 hours getting to the semi-finals, including almost five hours to defeat Dominic Thiem in an epic quarter-final that stretched into the early hours of Wednesday morning.
The effort took its toll, with the Spaniard twice needing to have his right knee bandaged before calling it a day after the conclusion of the second set.
“Well of course it’s not the best way to win a match. I love to play against Rafa because he’s the biggest fighter in this sport and I don’t like to see him suffering,” Del Potro said. “I am sad for him, but I’m also happy to do my best.”
Nadal’s challenge looked doomed even as early as the first set, as he was feeling the injury after just four games, he said.
He needed his right knee strapped after the seventh game before gallantly fighting off two set points in the 10th game, breaking Del Potro.
However, the Argentine swept through the tiebreaker, wrapping up the opener after 69 minutes of impressive shot-making.
The Spaniard called a medical time-out after three games of the second set to have the right knee rebandaged.
Del Potro sensed blood and broke for 3-1 as Nadal struggled for movement. He broke again for 5-2 on his way to a two-set lead and eventual victory.
“It means a lot to be back in the final,” Del Potro said after his sixth win over Nadal, all on hard court. “I didn’t expect to get to another Grand Slam final in my favorite tournament. I had my biggest memories on this court in 2009, when I beat Rafa and Roger [Federer]. I was a kid then; now I am much older.”
Wimbledon champion Djokovic claimed a 15th win in 17 clashes against Nishikori.
It was plain sailing for the 31-year-old Serb, who is chasing a 14th Slam title to take him level with Pete Sampras on the all-time list.
He broke serve four times while an under-par Nishikori saved 13-17 break points and committed 51 unforced errors.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but