Djokovic saves 2 match points, tops del Potro in surprise Rome classic

It was the moment that Juan Martin del Potro had worked for nearly two hours, and waited for more than six months, to reach: double match point, against world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, in the quarterfinals of a Masters 1000 event, in Rome. This was Delpo’s seventh match since he fractured his knee cap last fall, and the first time he had looked like his old, Slam-winning, forehand-destroying self.

Del Potro had used his flat, margin-less, powerfully-thumped ground strokes, which seemed to be laser-guided into the corners for much of the evening, to win the first set 6-4. When Djokovic, as expected, turned the tables in the second set, Delpo answered right back by upping the pace and accuracy on his serves and strokes even more. Down 2-5 in the second, Del Potro broke back and pushed the match to a tiebreaker. Many of us were waiting for the Argentine to crack; after all, he was just 4-15 against the steadier Serb. Was he going to defy history, and belt his way into the Rome semifinals for the first time in his career?

After the first 10 points of the breaker, it looked as if Del Potro had finally found an answer to this court, and this opponent. In the past, Djokovic has usually been able to read which way Delpo is going to go with his big, putaway forehand; he did it again during the second point of the tiebreaker, when he correctly anticipated an inside-out forehand, won the point, and eventually took a 3-2 lead.

Over the next three rallies, though, it was Del Potro who suddenly began to win the guessing game. Three times he got a sitter forehand, three times Djokovic guessed inside-out, and three times Delpo went the other way and ripped a winner crosscourt. When Djokovic sent a return of serve long at 5-4, Del Potro had two match points, and one more serve to come.

Delpo had been having success sliding a slower-than-normal first serve into Djokovic’s forehand side in the deuce court. He tried it again, and he succeeded again in eliciting a short return from Djokovic. The moment was here: Again Djokovic guessed inside-out, and again Del Potro went crosscourt. But this time, instead of ripping a winner, Delpo rushed his swing just enough to shank the ball long and wide. He had cracked.

Champions take what they’re given them, they say, and in this case the cliché proved to be true. With one more match point to save, Djokovic saw his chance and pounced: after pushing Delpo deep in the court, Djokovic tried a delicate backhand drop shot and was rewarded for his bravery with a winner. The turning point had arrived later than anticipated, but it had arrived. Djokovic would win the next two points for the set—both del Potro errors—and he would break serve in the fifth game of the third. It was all he needed to secure a 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-4 win.

Djokovic and Del Potro may have the most underrated rivalry in tennis. In part, that’s because their head to head is so lopsided in Djokovic’s favor. But Delpo has beaten him twice at the Olympics, and they have had classic battles at Wimbledon, Shanghai and Acapulco over the years. You can put this one up there with their best, and with the best of 2019. It’s hard to imagine we’ll see better sustained ball-striking all season, especially from Del Potro.

The result may also have French Open ramifications. The first of which is that Delpo, who reached the semis at Roland Garros last year, could be a contender there again. The second ramification may play out this weekend. If Djokovic had lost this match, it would be easy to imagine Rafael Nadal winning the title in Rome on Sunday, going to Paris as the favorite again, and gaining in confidence, all while Djokovic was left to wonder about his own form. Now a Nadal-Djokovic final in Rome is still in play. If Djokovic wins that, which is distinctly possible, he’ll be the one to go to Paris with a new sense of confidence, and maybe even as the favorite.

Can one shanked forehand change tennis history? We’ll find out soon enough. Whatever happens, Djokovic-Del Potro was a match to remember in its own right.