Del Potro comes of age

I was a bit late on posting of this piece of news, maybe due to the after effect of me waking up at 4am for the match. Anyway, great match and great fight by both men, even though Del Porto was so much superior in the 5th set. He deserved it truly :)

Roger Federer had contested 20 Grand Slam finals prior to his 3-6, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2 loss to Juan Martin del Potro in the 2009 US Open final, but he had only taken defeats to one man, Rafael Nadal, during the five occasions he was unable to hoist the big trophy.

But the world No. 1 had never been asked to do what the 20-year-old Argentine required of him, which was to match his nuclear power over a four-hour period and find a way to hit through and around a younger man who was overmatching him off the ground, was serving bigger and returning with more confidence and force.

Federer had chopped down plenty of pure power players before and had beaten del Potro six straight times coming into the match, but the tall free-swinger from Tandil was less mature then, was lacking in fitness and didn't really believe that when crunch time came he would have more answers.

But outside of a nervous first set, he largely out-played one of the greatest players in US Open history, a man who had won five successive Opens and who had played so well from 2004-2008 that he was never forced to contest a five-setter in a final.

Del Potro kept hitting out with his forehand, even though Federer's is oh-so-dangerous, but made the right decision, as he ended the contest with 37 forehand winners to just 20 from Federer. The Argentine had little trouble hammering into Federer's weaker backhand side with searing cross-court backhands, finally got enough rhythm with his two-handed backhand to be able to pass the on-rushing Swiss, and moved at times, like, well, Nadal.

During the sixth game of the fourth set, after chasing down a Federer blast near the wall and curling it for a forehand winner around the net post, he scooted around, high-fiving the crowd.

A quiet and modest guy, del Potro didn't back away from the occasion and reveled in it, waving to his large contingent of Argentine fans to get himself pumped up and looking up in sheer joy as they serenaded him with cries of “Ole, Ole, Delpo.”

Del Potro is only the fourth player since Federer won his first major at 2003 Wimbledon to break the Nadal-Federer stranglehold at the majors. One of the other men, 2005 Australian Open champion Marat Safin, will retire at the end of this year. That leaves 2003 U.S. champion Roddick, 2008 Australian titlist Novak Djokovic and del Potro to contend with the Swiss and the Spaniard, who have won 21 majors in that period.

Del Potro is the first guy to beat Nadal and Federer back-to-back at a major -- no small feat. Like Safin did to Pete Sampras back at the 2000 US Open, the young guy with a blinding haymaker knocked out a stunned older legend. He has the on-court tools and, apparently, the willpower.

That should clearly make him a significant part of the conversation in years to come in his beloved New York.