NEW YORK—When Juan Martin del Potro’s 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (8), 6-4 quarterfinal win over Roger Federer was finished, the two players were in agreement.
“I think I deserved to win in the end,” Del Potro said.
“Juan Martin deserves it more,” Federer said.
Before the match, some of us had wondered about Del Potro’s readiness to play after his five-set marathon win over Dominic Thiem two nights earlier. By the end of the night, it was Federer’s readiness that was the issue.
Over the course of the match, Federer did many things that he normally doesn’t. He double faulted on a crucial point at the end of the first set, and missed an easy overhead on an even more crucial point at the start of the fourth. He let four set points in a tiebreaker slip by. He sent a wild forehand volley 20 feet out in the last game, when he still had a chance to break to stay in the match. He failed to capitalize on Del Potro’s obvious weakness, his backhand. His mood and level of play swung up and down and up and down again from one set to the next.
In short, Federer didn’t look like he believed he should win this match, and judging by his comments afterward, he didn’t.
“The way I’m playing right now,” Federer said, “it’s not good enough in my opinion to win this tournament.”
Federer said he never felt like he was in a “safe place” with his game at this event, and that while his recently injured back hadn’t been the difference-maker tonight, it had slowed his preparation for the tournament, and his “rhythm” throughout it.
“So it was one of those matches where if I ran into a good guy, I was going to lose, I felt,” he said.