Day 15 Wrap Up: Deja vu?

Simply put, DelPo played the match of his life. He let nerves get the better of him in the 1^st set where he put on a listless performance. It wasn’t until he broke Federer for the 1^st time in the 2^nd set that the nerves finally settled and the belief he displayed all tournament long, settled in. Federer, for his part, had a horrible serving day. Averaging only 50% the entire match and registering 11 double faults on the match.

Losing the line call in the 2^nd set completely changed the demeanor of this match. Once DelPo found his feet and the range on his forehand, he never looked back, thumping twice as many forehand winners as Federer. The crisp sound of the ball cracking against the strings was enough to bring the crowd on Ashe to its’ feet applauding for more. To our surprise, Federer completely went away in the 5^th set. Reminiscent of his 5 set loss to Nadal at the OZ in January, Federer wasn’t able to shake off the effects of the 4^th set. While DelPo’s belief grew point after point, Federer, in contrast, looked rushed and unsettled. He was being pushed around by DelPo’s relentless ground game. Even the great Federer couldn't withstand the barrage of forehands coming off the del Potro racket.

All in all, what an amazing performance DelPo delivered. Even more amazing that he followed up what he dubbed “the match of his life” into an unthinkable feat. Today, he became the only man to defeat both Nadal and Federer in a major. Today, he stood on the shoulders of two giants to proclaim his arrival.