Nadal Loses in Semifinals
FLUSHING MEADOWS, N.Y., Sept. 13 -- One day after its marquee player, Serena Williams, was bounced from the U.S. Open after a profanity-laced tirade against a linesperson, the tournament lost the prospect of the Rafael Nadal-Roger Federer men's final that so many fans wanted to see.
Nadal fell short Sunday in his attempt to reach the final of the only major title that eludes him, getting soundly thrashed by Argentina's Juan MartÃn Del Potro, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2.
Later, Federer only embellished his standing as the heavy favorite to win his sixth consecutive U.S. Open title and extend his record of 15 majors by sweeping fourth-seeded Novak Djokovic in straight sets, 7-6 (7-3), 7-5, 7-5.
Federer earned triple match point with a shot that words cannot capture. He was on the attack, having charged the net, when Djokovic lofted a brilliant lob over the Swiss master's head.
Federer spun around and chased it back to the baseline but had no option other than to flick it back between his legs, his back to the net. Then he looked over his left shoulder just in time to see the ball land well inside his opponent's side of the court and well beyond the reach of Djokovic, who could only look on with wry bemusement.
Federer called it "the greatest shot I've hit in my life."
Said Djokovic, with unabashed admiration: "When he needed to serve well, he did. When he needed to defend well, he did. He gets to the net. These things make a difference.
"He is," Djokvic concluded, "maybe playing the tennis of his life."
Nadal, however, could not say the same.
The Spaniard, who lost his world No. 1 ranking in July and then tumbled to No. 3 while he was sidelined by tendinitis, is poised to reclaim his No. 2 by virtue of reaching the semifinals of the season's major.
But he was no match Sunday for the 6-foot-6 Del Potro, who has compiled a 17-1 record since Wimbledon.
While Nadal, 23, was clearly limited by an abdominal strain he suffered last month, Del Potro routed him so convincingly, in every aspect of the game, that it's difficult to argue that the outcome would have differed had Nadal been fully fit.
Source: Washington Post
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