Almost nothing has been able to stand in the way of Juan Martin Del Potro of late. The only exception is world No. 2 Andy Murray in the gold-medal showdown at the Rio Olympics. Diego Schwartzman? Nope. Steve Johnson? Routine. David Ferrer? See ya later.
Del Potro maintained his winning ways by disposing of Ferrer 7-6(3), 6-2, 6-3 during third-round action at the U.S. Open on Saturday. The Argentine broke serve five times and held throughout the second and the third to prevail after two hours and 24 minutes.
A back-and-forth opener saw Del Potro pocket an early break only to get broken, himself, twice in succession. But soon it was Ferrer’s turn to buckle under the pressure, as the 34-year-old Spaniard double-faulted on break point at 5-3. After Del Potro cruised through the ensuing tiebreaker, it was all but over for Ferrer.
“I got stronger mentally after the first set,” Del Potro noted. “Against David, you never know when (the match) is going to finish. He never gives up. He’s a fighter. Also it’s a pleasure to play against him because he puts me all the time [under] pressure…. I think I did really well in the second and the third [sets].”
In a dominant second set, the 2009 U.S. Open champ cracked 15 winners compared to just three unforced errors. He surrendered a mere 13 total service points in the second and third sets combined.
“I’m so glad to be in the second week [of a] Grand Slam after three or four years,” Del Potro said. “That’s means a lot of good things to myself. Of course, I’m looking forward to keep winning. But my next opponent will be really difficult.”
That next opponent has been one of the best players in the world this season–at least he was during the first half. Although Dominic Thiem ran out of gas just a bit at Wimbledon and throughout the majority of the hard-court summer, the Austrian may be getting back in gear. After outlasting John Millman in five sets, he thrashed Ricardas Berankis and then beat Pablo Carreno Busta 1-6, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 on Saturday afternoon.
Thiem’s victory over Carreno Busta marked a 23rd birthday celebration. Two days after the festivities, however, things will only get more difficult given Del Potro’s ruthless current form.
[polldaddy poll=9512544]
Leave a Reply