Tuesday, June 5, 2012
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Juan Martin Del Potro had 16-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer on the ropes, but failed to deliver the knockout punch. By the time he got his movement back in the fifth set it was too late as the Swiss grabbed a 3-6, 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-0, 6-3 victory in three hours and 14 minutes
It was a sad day for the tall Argentine, who ripped the cover off the ball in the first two sets and played a gutsy and inventive tiebreaker to take a two sets to love lead. But Del Potro, who came into the tournament with a left knee injury and had complained about it all tournament long, called for the trainer early in the third set and appeared to lose a lot of steam in rallies as Federer began to yank him around with precise groundstrokes.
The Argentine looked like he might call it a day in the fourth set when he could not get a push off his left leg and was barely moving for balls, but regained a little spring in his step in the fifth set and began to push the Swiss. But Federer looked spry and self-assured that he had developed the right game plan while Del Potro looked confused and somewhat desperate.
In fact, Del Potro claimed that his knee was no factor in the match at all and it was Federer's ability to step up his level and his inability to sustain his pace that was the key.
"He start to play much better than in the beginning of the match and I feel his ball more in the baseline," Del Potro said. "He put me to run a lot in the third and fourth set. He made better match than me after the second set. I don't have any chance to win until the first game in the fifth set when I had break point. He play well I served really bad in the fourth set, also. And if I serve bad against Federer or the top guys, you don't have too many chance to win points.
He was playing with more confidence the fifth set than me. When he had the chance to close the match, he made it. "
In the fifth set, 2009 champion Federer was in full confidence and in the fourth game he broke Del Potro to 3-1 with a sweet forehand down the line. From then on it was just a matter of mixing up his serves enough and not getting pushed too far back by the taller man. The third seed succeeded, staying tough in rapid-fire rallies and winning the 3 hour and 14 minute match when a Del Potro forehand clipped the top of the net and went wide.
Federer, who had beaten Del Potro in their last five meetings coming into the match -- all of them on hard courts-- said the change of surface to slower clay made a difference.
" That makes it hard for a lot of variation. You don't get any free points on the serve," he said. "Anything that's maybe short rallies and chips and down the line shots, it's a better match for me. He obviously like to go back into backhand and then rip the forehand once he gets the chance. I thought it was very good conditions for him. I knew it was going to be tough anyway. I have still been struggling to find my rhythm. I did feel it in the first set, even though he was up two sets ‑‑ two breaks. I was finding a way back and starting to feel better... Second set was a tough set for me to lose, but he played a really good breaker and got the better of me. But I was happy that the first two sets took some time, because I did favor myself once the match got longer. That's kind of how it came. So I'm very happy with the way I fought and started in the third set, fourth set, and even in the fifth set where obviously it was the toughest, because that was his last chance and his resistance maybe was the biggest there."
Federer has been on both sides of the two sets up or down coin, having fallen to Novak Djokovic with the lead in the 2011 US Open semis, but also having come back on Tommy Haas at 2009 Roland Garros. He thought of those contests, as well as his five-set win over the Argentine in the 2009 French semifinals, when he was down two sets to one and came through in the end.
"Maybe I drew some inspiration off it," he said. "But then again, completely different place. Suzanne Lenglen [court]; it's raining. It's a different situation, really. But you just try to push further and it's not easy. But at the same time you are happy it's a Grand Slam, because any other tournament I would have been out of the tournament. This way the road to victory is much longer and it's not a sprint; it's a marathon. I'm happy I came through. I feel great after the five‑setter."
Federer, who reached the final last year before falling to six-time champion Rafael Nadal, will play No.1 Novak Djokovic in a rematch of their 2011 semi-final, which was won by the Swiss.
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