Players: Roger Federer and Juan Martin del Potro
- Roger Federer. The player with the most Grand Slam singles titles in history
Roger Federer was 28 years old in September 2009, and after going through a difficult period in 2008 and early 2009, he recently returned to the No. 1 ranking. The Swiss dominated the game from 2004 to 2007, winning almost everything except the French Open. Nadal was the main reason Federer hadn’t won it yet. The Swiss lost to his Spanish rival in the finals in 2006, 2007 and again in 2008, a difficult year for the Swiss. First, a young Novak Djokovic defeated him in the semi-finals of the Australian Open (7-5, 6-3 7-6), but the worst was yet to come. Nadal, after destroying him in the painful final of Roland-Garros (6-1, 6-3, 6-0), managed to defeat him in his own garden. Wimbledon in a five-set thriller (6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 9-7). When the Spaniard went as far as toppling Federer for the world No. 1 ranking he had held for 237 consecutive weeks, the Swiss must have thought he had hit rock bottom.
If that was the case, then Federer was wrong. Rock bottom came at the 2009 Australian Open, when the Swiss once again lost to his nemesis Nadal in five sets (7-5, 3-6, 7-6, 3-6, 6-2) and broke down in tears at the trophy presentation. At this stage in 2009, Federer not only became Nadal’s rival, but was defeated by Djokovic, Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka. For the first time since 2000, Federer did not win a title during the first four months of the season. Journalists had begun to talk about the decline while the Swiss beat Nadal on clay for only the second time before winning the title in Madrid. A few weeks later, Federer’s dream came true. he finally won at Roland Garros, defeating Robin Soderling in the final (6-1, 7-6, 6-4), ending his Grand Slam career. Surfing the wave, the maestro then collected a sixth title at Wimbledon, his 15th Grand Slam trophy, beating Andy Roddick (5-7, 7-6, 7-6, 3-6, 16-14) in the final round to surpass Pete Sampras’ record. After another tournament win in Cincinnati, he was ready for the US Open, where he had won his last five matches and remained undefeated since 2003.
- Juan Martin del Potro. Thandil Tower
Juan Martin del Potro, nicknamed “The Tower” (he’s 6ft 6in) was born in 1988. He turned professional in 2005, and in 2006 he was the youngest player to finish the year in the top 100 (No. 91). In 2007, he rose to world No. 47 after reaching the third round of the US Open (lost to Djokovic 6-1, 6-3, 6-4). His breakthrough year came in 2008. That summer, he not only won his first ATP title, but also became the first player in tennis history to win his first four titles in four consecutive tournaments, winning trophies in Stuttgart, Kitzbühel, Los Angeles (where he defeated world No. 9, No. 7 Andy Roddy, and No. 61 in Washington). In September, he reached the quarterfinals of the US Open, where he was eliminated by Andy Murray (7-6, 7-6, 4-6, 7-5). In 2009, he had not yet won a title, but he reached the semifinals at Roland Garros, where he defeated Federer in five sets (3-6, 7-6, 2-6, 6-1, 6-4). He finished runner-up at the Canadian Open (lost to Murray 6–7, 7–6, 6–1). Del Potro’s game was based on a massive serve, an extremely brutal but not always reliable forehand and a very consistent two-handed backhand.
The placeFlushing Meadows, New York
The US Open (known as the US Nationals until 1968 and the start of the Open Era) was founded in 1881, and although it is the only Grand Slam tournament to have been played every year without interruption since its inception, it has moved several times over the course of 20 years.th century. First held in August 1881 on the grass courts of the Newport Casino in Rhode Island, the tournament moved to New York in 1915, where it was held at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills until 1977 (except from 1921-1923, when the event was moved to Philadelphia). Built in 1924, Center Court in Forest Hills could hold 14,000 spectators.
In 1978, the US Open left the West Side Tennis Club, now too small for such an important event, and moved to the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York. The tennis center was one of the largest tennis complexes in the world. its center field was Louis Armstrong Stadium, which had a capacity of 14,000. In 1997, a new center court, Arthur Ashe Stadium, was opened. With 23,000 seats, it was the largest tennis arena in the world.
The factsDel Potro has not beaten Federer in six previous attempts
At the 2009 US Open, it seemed that no one could stop Roger Federer from winning his third Grand Slam title in the same year. A few months ago, the Swiss made his dream come true by winning Roland Garros after losing three finals in Paris, and after winning at Wimbledon, he surrendered the No. 1 ranking that Nadal took from him in 2008. The Swiss dropped just two sets en route to the final, and in the 3rd semi-final, he lost to Djokovic. (7-6, 7-5, 7-5).
In the final, Federer met with Argentinean Juan Martin del Potro. The two players had already met six times, and the Swiss always won. The Argentine had failed to win a set in their first five meetings, including the quarter-finals of the 2009 Australian Open where del Potro was punished by the maestro 6-3, 6-0, 6-0. However, their last meeting in the semifinals of Roland Garros was not so easy for Federer, who had to fight to get past Ashtarak in five sets (3-6, 7-6, 2-6, 6-1, 6-4). Furthermore, del Potro made a strong impression in the semi-finals of the US Open, defeating Nadal 6-2, 6-2, 6-2.
Del Potro, understandably nervous at the start of his first Grand Slam final, got off to a slow start in the first set. Against an experienced player like Federer, he was instantly punished. The Swiss not only took the first set 6-3, but also broke his opponent’s serve early in the second set. It looked like he was going for an easy win. Maybe that thought actually crossed Federer’s mind as he started to make some unforced errors and hit some bad shots in this second set. It was enough for Del Potro to win a few break points and gain some confidence. With the world No.1 serving for the set, The Tower blasted two extraordinary forehand winners to break Federer’s serve for the first time. Now a whole new match has begun. Del Potro was on fire. His serves were huge and few had hit such powerful forehands before. Federer now had to fight back and although he managed to take a two sets to one lead, he was pushed to a tiebreak in the fourth set. In this tiebreak, Federer double-faulted to give del Potro a mini-break, and the Argentine didn’t have mercy on his serves and suddenly it was all two sets.
Using the momentum, del Potro broke Federer early in the decider and was soon 3-0 up. Despite it being his first Grand Slam final, the Argentine showed no signs of nerves when he had to serve for the match. He won this last game to seal a surprise and impressive 3-6, 7-6, 4-6, 7-6, 6-2 victory at love.
“Winning against Federer in five makes it even more special,” del Potro said. according to The New York Times. “Of course I knew it was going to be very difficult, and in a way it makes it better that it was difficult.”
The Swiss appreciated the opponent’s mental game. “It’s always a great effort and winning your first final. You have to give him all the credit because it’s not an easy thing to do, especially going up against someone like me who has so much experience.”
What next?Injuries derail Del Potro’s career. Federer adds to his Grand Slam total
Unfortunately, after such a promising start, del Potro’s career would be derailed by injuries. Unable to train and play for entire seasons, he wouldn’t have any notable results until reaching the semifinals at Wimbledon in 2013 (losing to Djokovic 7-5, 4-6, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3). He would achieve the feat at the 2016 Olympics, defeating both Djokovic and Nadal en route to the final, but fell short of the gold medal, defeating Murray (7-5, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5). Then, after a fantastic run at the 2018 US Open, where he would finish runner-up Djokovic (6-3, 7-6, 6-3), further injuries would hamper his return to the tour. In 2022, he returned to play one last time in front of his home fans in Buenos Aires, where he lost in the first round as knee problems continued to bother him. After announcing that he wanted to play the US Open for the last time in 2023, the Argentine returned to training but failed to reach the form he would like to have once again.
At the age of 28 in the 2009 US Open finals, Federer’s fall has already been announced several times. The Swiss, however, added five more Grand Slam titles, bringing his total to 20 (currently third on the all-time list behind Djokovic’s 24 and Nadal’s 22). The Swiss suffered a career-ending knee injury and finally hung up his racket at the 2022 Laver Cup event, more than a year after his final singles match at Wimbledon in 2021.
