By Chris Oddo | Thursday September 7, 2016
Stan Wawrinka ended the run of 2009 champion Juan Martin del Potro with a commanding four-set win..
Photo Source: Alex Goodlett
It wasn’t Juan Martin del Potro’s night. But then, suddenly, it was.
Stan Wawrinka ambled past del Potro in four sets on Monday night in New York, 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, to reach the U.S. Open semifinals for the third time in four years.
The Swiss advances to meet Kei Nishikori in the semifinals. Nishikori edged No. 2 seed Andy Murray in a five-set thriller early on Wednesday.
Wawrinka got the win, his first since 2008 against del Potro, but the Argentine hit the emotional high point, long after midnight and just before he was eliminated from his first U.S. Open since 2013.
Late in the fourth set, his hopes dashed, the Argentinean contingent at Arthur Ashe Stadium gave del Potro the ultimate gift: their gratitude.
“They made me so happy tonight, and I don't mind the score,” the 27-year-old told reporters after the match.
The fans, many clad in the countries’ colors, sang in approval of their hero’s comeback. Boisterously from the bowels of Arthur Ashe Stadium they belted, and there were many. They had good reason to be cheering: After four surgeries and too much time lost to injury, del Potro is once again resembling the champion that shocked Roger Federer at Flushing Meadows in 2009. Seven years, and so much hardship, have passed, but there is even more emotion in the Tandil native’s game.
Del Potro’s comeback has provided umami for the tennis fan palette all summer, but in the here and now it’s “to the victor goes the spoils.” Let’s not forget that tonight’s match was won convincingly by a Wawrinka that looks very capable of winning another Grand Slam title. The 31-year-old was electric despite the late hour and the humidity, drilling 53 winners to just 28 for del Potro. It was a command performance from a Grand Slam stalwart who has won Grand Slam titles in each of the previous two years. On another note, Wawrinka has a ten-match winning streak in finals, but he’ll have to defeat No. 6-seeded Kei Nishikori in the semifinals if he is to make that statistic relevant.
Nishikori and Wawrinka’s history is mixed, with Wawrinka holding the 3-2 edge but Nishikori owning a massive victory over the Swiss in five sets at the 2014 U.S. Open quarterfinals. Wawrinka would avenge that loss at the very next major, defeating Nishikori in straight sets at the 2015 Australian Open quarterfinal.
“Well, it's going to be interesting for sure,” Wawrinka said after Wednesday’s win over del Potro. “We played many times against each other. He beat me a few years ago here quarterfinal five sets. He beat me in Toronto; I beat him in Australia.”
Wawrinka has not defeated anybody in the Top 40 at Flushing Meadows but the victory over in-form Del Potro is akin to a Top 10 win. Can the Swiss back it up against Nishikori?
“I saw him play today,” Wawrinka said. “He was playing really well. It's going to be tough match, for sure. We will see also how I'm going to feel physically in two days to get ready for that. But, yeah, I'm ready for a match against Kei.”