Before the US Open, Juan Martin del Potro was 47th in the Emirates ATP Race To London. The only place it appeared the Argentine would get to see the Nitto ATP Finals action would be from home.

But after defeating defending champion Marin Cilic, 6-4, 6-4, in one hour, 37 minutes in the semi-finals of the Swiss Indoors Basel, del Potro moved to within one match of putting himself in the final qualifying spot for the year-end finale with just one tournament remaining, at the Rolex Paris Masters next week.

“I played a good match, but always to beat Cilic you must play at a high level,” del Potro said. “I’m happy that I did well and reached another final here in Basel.”

If del Potro can earn his third Basel title (2012, 2013) on Sunday, he will pass Pablo Carreno Busta, who currently occupies the final spot, in the Race.

Del Potro has played some of the best tennis of anyone on the ATP World Tour lately, advancing to the semi-finals of the US Open (l. Nadal) and the Shanghai Rolex Masters (l. Federer), defending his title at the Intrum Stockholm Open (d. Dimitrov) and now reaching the Swiss Indoors Basel final for the first time since 2013.

Saturday’s victory was his seventh in a row against Cilic, extending his lead in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series to 10-2. He has also won 17 of their past 19 sets.

And while Cilic is at a career-high of No. 4 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, he never truly found his rhythm against the in-form del Potro. The Croatian made an abundance of errors to dig himself a hole that he could not fight his way out of. After early breaks by both in the opening set, del Potro drilled a backhand return on his third break point at 4-4 to gain the advantage, and he would hold to clinch the set. Del Potro then broke immediately in the second set as he looked to storm into the final. But Cilic started to find his range off the baseline, breaking back for 3-3. However, the momentum did not last as he immediately earned his break back, and held out from there to clinch the win.

“I think I will be in good shape for tomorrow,” del Potro said. “I’m so excited to play the final.”

The Argentine will play seven-time Basel champion Roger Federer, who cruised past third seed David Goffin, 6-1, 6-2, in the semi-finals. Del Potro trails Federer 6-17 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry. And while the Swiss has captured four of their past five matches, the 29-year-old ousted Federer in the quarter-finals of this year’s US Open.

“For me it’s going to be a great challenge and also a great pleasure to play against Roger again in his hometown,” del Potro said. “It will be a great atmosphere, and I will enjoy it a lot.”

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The release of the Rolex Paris Masters draw has added further intrigue to the battle for the final two singles berths at the Nitto ATP Finals, the eight-man season finale to be held 12-19 November at The O2 arena in London.

The final ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament of the year – and last tournament of the regular season – has thrown up two potential third-round matches that could go a long way to determining who makes it to London – and who does not.

View The Rolex Paris Master Draw

In the top half of the draw, the man who currently has a hold on the last qualifying spot, Pablo Carreno Busta, could have a third-round meeting with American Sam Querrey, who at No. 11, is just 80 points behind the Spaniard in the Emirates ATP Race To London.

In the bottom half of the draw, David Goffin, who is seventh in the Race, could meet fast-finishing Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who was a distant 22^nd in the Race before winning his fourth title of the year in Antwerp last week. Tsonga, who is 19-2 indoors this year, today upset World No. 5 Alexander Zverev to reach the Vienna semi-finals.

Juan Martin del Potro has the opportunity to complete one of the most unlikely qualifications in tournament history. The Argentine was a distant 47^th in the Race before the US Open, but would overtake Carreno Busta for the final qualifying position as early as Sunday should he advance to the Swiss Indoors Basel final and win the title for a third time. Next week in Paris, del Potro plays the winner of Gael Monfils and Paolo Lorenzi in in his opener, with a third-round clash with Zverev a possibility.

South Africa’s Kevin Anderson, 135 points behind Carreno Busta, opens against #NextGenATP Russian Andrey Rublev or veteran Frenchman Fernando Verdasco. The winner of that match could face fifth seed Dominic Thiem in the third round.

Top seed Rafael Nadal returns to the tour after missing this week in Basel with knee soreness. He will play the winner of Mischa Zverev and Hyeon Chung in the second round. Second seed Roger Federer, who also has a first-round bye, will open against Feliciano Lopez or Pierre-Hugues Herbert. Nadal has a healthy lead over Federer in the battle for the year-end World No. 1 Emirates ATP Ranking, but the Swiss is not without a chance of claiming year-end honours for a sixth time should he win Paris and the season finale.

The Nitto ATP Finals also features the best eight doubles teams of the year. Just one doubles spot to London remains up for grabs in Paris.

Roger Federer proved in his 15th quarter-final at the Swiss Indoors Basel, his hometown tournament, that he still has plenty of magic left.

The top seed rode the momentum of a tremendous backhand half-volley winner from the baseline down break point in the third set to oust Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3, in one hour, 43 minutes. Federer will have the opportunity to advance to his 13th final in Basel, and next plays third seed and Nitto ATP Finals hopeful David Goffin. 

“Today was a battle. I had to somehow dig and fight and sometimes these wins are more rewarding than just leading from the get-go and dominating throughout and bringing it home,” said Federer. “These are better matches to win sometimes, actually. I just had a tough time really getting into it and he was rock solid, so he deserved that first set, but the reaction from me was really important.”

Federer, who is into his eighth ATP World Tour semi-final of the season, seeks to earn his eighth title in Basel.

And judging by his 4-0 FedEx ATP Head2Head series lead against Mannarino heading into Friday’s match, which included all 10 sets going in the Swiss’ favor, it was hard to imagine the Frenchman spoiling Federer’s hometown party. But after Federer did not face a break point in his first two wins, both by 6-1, 6-3 scorelines, the tricky left-hander tested the 36-year-old.

Mannarino broke to love at 4-4 in the opening set before winning his first-ever set against Federer without a problem. The seven-time Basel champion, intense as ever at an event for which he was once a ballboy, quickly won five games in a row to turn the momentum around.

Yet after failing to break Mannarino with two opportunities in the first game of the deciding set, it was Federer who was in trouble. He faced two break points at 2-3, and the Frenchman did well with his second opportunity, lacing a forehand return on the baseline, a shot that most players would scramble to simply put back into play.

But somehow, Federer flicked his one-handed backhand for a winner down the line and never looked back from there, winning the final four games of the match to advance to the semi-finals.

GENIUS ?#swissindoors @rogerfederer pic.twitter.com/0JuzslhJCU

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 27, 2017

Federer explained his thought process on that crucial break point save. “Before, I hope that I don’t have to hit a shot like this. During, I hope that it’s going to go in and he can’t reach it. And after, it’s thank God I made it…. And then obviously it’s so, so important at deuce to somehow win the game. It doesn’t matter how you do it… you can’t allow yourself to lose a game after saving two break points the way you did, and I held my nerves, held the game, and was able to [get] through it.” 

Federer holds a 5-0 FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Goffin, including a pair of victories in Basel. The Swiss cruised to a win in the 2014 final, conceding only four games, and defeated the Belgian again in a tighter quarter-final match the following year, prevailing 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.

Goffin advanced Friday night with a 7-6(6), 6-3 win over fifth-seeded American Jack Sock in 78 minutes. The Belgian saved two set points in the opening set before capitalising on his first opportunity, and recovered from an early break down in the second as he won four straight games to go up 4-2. He closed out the match with another break of serve.

Goffin is next in line to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, and continued to add to his lead over his nearest competitors in the Emirates ATP Race To London. With his victory Friday, the 26-year-old moved 280 points ahead of Pablo Carreno Busta, who currently holds the final qualifying spot. Carreno Busta bowed out this week in the second round of the Erste Bank Open 500, while Sam Querrey and Kevin Anderson – at No. 11 and No. 12 in the Race standings – failed to gain ground when they dropped their Vienna openers.

The World No. 10 will be looking to reach his second straight ATP World Tour 500 final. He claimed his biggest career title earlier this month at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships 2017 with a victory over Mannarino in the final.

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