U.S. Open: Del Potro, Federer Set For Quarter-Final Showdown

Juan Martin Del Potro produced a stunning comeback against Austrian Dominic Thiem on Monday to reach the U.S. Open quarter-finals in New York where he will meet Swiss Roger Federer, who beat Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber in straight sets.

The Argentine 24th seed, who lifted the trophy in New York in 2009 against Federer, came from two sets down to beat Thiem 1-6 2-6 6-1 7-6(1) 6-4 win on Grandstand court.

De Potro, whose career has been plagued by multiple injuries, called for the doctor twice during the opening set and looked to be on his way out at 2-0 down, but a break early in the third set gave him the extra confidence he needed to believe in his chances.

After winning the fourth set tiebreak with a blistering crosscourt forehand, the Argentine wrapped up victory when Thiem double-faulted on match point after three hours, 37 minutes of play.

Federer crushed Kohlschreiber 6-4 6-2 7-5 in just one hour, 49 minutes without facing a break point.

Unbeaten by the German in 11 matches prior to Monday’s clash, Federer started quietly and was content to feel out his opponent but it was not long until he turned up the pressure and broke his opponent with a thundering forehand before wrapping up the first set.

With the match on serve at 2-1, razor sharp Federer tore through six successive games to take the second set and go 1-0 up in the third.

With Kohlschreiber on the ropes, the 36-year-old Swiss seemed to ease up but he took the decisive break at 6-5 before closing out the match with a classic forehand winner.

If there was one worry about the Swiss in the one-sided contest, it was the sight of him leaving the court before the start of the third set to receive treatment on a back that had given him problems in the run-up to the grand slam.

Federer, however, downplayed the timeout, jokingly saying:

“I just needed s bit of a rub on my back, or my bottom, my… And I didn’t want to do it on court, and I wanted… whatever, I wanted to get it done as quickly as possible so Philipp wouldn’t have to wait!”