He’s back.
Like many of you, I found myself saying that about Juan Martin del Potro, who looked like his old, imposing self early on today against Rafael Nadal. He was even swinging the same racquet—OK, at least the same looking one—as he did in 2009, when he won the U.S. Open at just 20.
The Argentine, who played just six matches in 2010 due to wrist problems, has been working his way into form this season and at times today looked near his peak. He took a 3-0 lead with a barrage of cross-court backhands and his lethal forehand, of which he had complete control of power and placement. Nadal, who was hitting with good pace but average precision, had nine unforced errors through the first triad of games and simply couldn’t keep up.
But as this high-quality match unfolded, I began to say the same thing—he’s back—about Nadal. In his six matches since losing to David Ferrer at the Australian Open (an outcome that injury played a part in), Nadal hadn’t faced an opponent of del Potro’s caliber. Ivo Karlovic proved a difficult challenge in the quarters, but no one would confuse the super-server with a Grand Slam champion.
Nadal answered the call. His accuracy began to match the intensity of his shots, and he earned his first break of the day in the seventh game. Shortly after striking a beautiful run-around, down-the-line forehand, Nadal broke del Potro again, taking the lead at 5-4. He held the next game after falling behind 0-30 to secure the first set.
The second set, while a carbon copy on the scoreboard, wasn’t nearly as close. There were threats from del Potro—he had two break points to take a 3-1 lead—but he couldn’t get ahead of Rafa as he did earlier. The solitary break came in the fifth game, when a Nadal backhand whizzed past del Potro and stayed inside the lines for a successful pass.
Is Rafa back to last year’s otherworldly level? He might need to be to win tomorrow’s final, against either Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic. At the very least, he was back to his confident, commanding self today, which was enough to dismiss del Potro, 6-4, 6-4.
As for del Potro, is he really back? We’ll know for sure as the season plays itself out. But this was a fantastic tournament for him, a win in many ways despite today’s semifinal defeat. A win-win all around, for Nadal, del Potro and tennis fans.
—Ed McGrogan