Dream Comeback Continues For Del Potro
Dream Comeback Continues For Del Potro
Former champion through to quarter-finals
Juan Martin del Potro’s dream comeback to Flushing Meadows continued on Monday as he advanced to the US Open quarter-finals.
World No. 142 del Potro, who was given a wild card into the main draw, is the lowest-ranked US Open quarter-finalist since the 174th-ranked Jimmy Connors 25 years ago.
The Argentine advanced when Dominic Thiem was forced to retire from their fourth-round clash due to a right leg injury. Del Potro was leading 6-3, 3-2 with a break in the second set.
The 27-year-old del Potro is playing in New York for the first time since 2013. The Tandil native captured his only Grand Slam championship at the US Open in 2009 (d. Federer), but since then his career has been blighted by wrist injuries.
Del Potro played just four matches and underwent two operations on his left wrist in 2015, before making his return to the ATP World Tour in February of this year. In his first tournament back he reached the semi-finals in Delray Beach (l. to Querrey) and last month he clinched the silver medal at the Rio Olympics, playing Andy Murray in the final.
Del Potro is yet to drop a set at the US Open, dispatching Diego Schwartzman, Steve Johnson and David Ferrer. The right-hander is bidding to reach his first major semi-final since Wimbledon 2013 (l. to Djokovic) and goes on to challenge Stan Wawrinka or Illya Marchenko.
Del Potro is set to return to the Top 100 in the Top 65 in the Emirates ATP Rankings after the US Open for the first time since 27 October, 2014.
The 23-year-old Thiem was through to the US Open fourth round for the second time after edging Pablo Carreno Busta on his 23rd birthday on Saturday. The Austrian remains in strong contention to make his debut at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals later in the year.
“It was the knee,” said Thiem. “I had some problems with blisters, and maybe because of the compensation the knee started to hurt. I’m going to do an MRI now in the next couple of hours, and then I will have more information about it.
“From the end of the first set, beginning of the second set, it got worse and worse. No other choice.”