Roger Federer goes for his sixth straight U.S. Open title Monday afternoon against Argentina’s Juan Martin Del Potro after both men won their semifinal matches in straight sets on Sunday afternoon.
In a rematch of the 2007 U.S. Open final, Federer won a close encounter with Serbia’s Novak Djokovic 7–6, 7–5, 7–5.
Del Potro dealt Rafael Nadal his worst loss of his grand slam career 6–2, 6–2, 6–2 in Sunday’s first men’s semifinal.
Due to the rain, the semifinals were pushed back from Saturday. Both Federer and Djokovic had not played since Thursday and looked a little rusty at the outset. Federer’s forehand and first serve percentage suffered in the early going.
Both men traded service breaks and the first set went to a tiebreak. Federer was the steadier man in the first set tiebreak.
In the second set, there were no breaks of serve until the 12th game. With Djokovic serving at 5–6 (deuce), Federer ran down a volley and flicked a cross-court backhand, which hit the net cord and tumbled over. Djokovic’s reply could only find the net. Federer won the set on the next point.
Federer’s wizardry with the tennis racket stunned Djokovic and the crowd late in the third set as well. With Djokovic serving at 5–6 (0–30), Federer pulled off a once-in-a-lifetime shot.
Djokovic successfully lobbed Federer who scampered back toward the baseline and slammed a between-the-legs cross-court winner past Djokovic. The Ashe Stadium crowd erupted and Djokovic’s heart sank.
Federer closed out the match on the next point with a service return winner.
In his on-court post-match interview with CBS, Federer spoke about the shot:
“I had nothing to lose…We do [practice between-the-legs shots] a lot actually, but they never work.
“It’s the greatest shot I ever hit in my life!”
Federer and Del Potro met in the semifinals at the French Open about three months ago. Federer prevailed in five sets en route to his first French Open title. Federer is 6–0 against his 6’6” opponent.
“He [Del Potro] played wonderful against Rafa. He has proved he is a grand slam contender,” said Federer.
