Roger Federer recently said that one shot, one point, can change an entire match, maybe even change the course of a career. Juan Martin del Potro proved him right.
Del Potro stunned Federer in the U.S. Open final Monday, winning 3-6, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2 with a display of firepower that on several occasions left fans inside Arthur Ashe Stadium gasping. He also showed remarkable poise for a 20-year-old who, in his first major final, was facing the five-time defending champion and the all-time leader in Grand Slam singles titles.
Del Potro's forehand carried the day, and turned the match around just as Federer seemed about to pull away. The 6-foot-6 Argentine has three forehands: A hard one, a murderous one, and one that sounds like a tire exploding on the freeway (one was clocked at 110 mph). It was one of those most lethal of blasts that gave del Potro hope at a critical juncture, with Federer serving for the second set at 5-4, 30-30. The Argentine clubbed a forehand down the line that was called out. He immediately challenged the call and instant replay showed that the ball had clipped the line. Federer took a long look at the line and then sternly told chair umpire Jake Garner that the replay had been wrong.
"[There] was only one mark," Federer said after the match. 'That mark was out."
Federer looked flustered for the first time, and del Potro showed his first positive emotions, as he lifted his arms and encouraged the crowd to get behind him. They did. They wanted more tennis, and del Potro wanted to give it to them. On the next shot, he detonated another forehand down the line to pull even in the set, which he later won in a tiebreak.
This was just the beginning of what became the best U.S. Open men's final, and the first to last five sets, since Andre Agassi defeated Todd Martin in 1999. It might well be the best final in Flushing since Mats Wilander defeated Ivan Lendl more than 20 years ago in one of the sport's most compelling matches.
What made it so good? There were swings of momentum, such as when del Potro broke Federer for a 4-3 lead in the third set and Federer responded by winning the next three games and the set. The crowd urged del Potro on and sang to him in Spanish. When he cracked his forehand and left Federer doubled over in desperation, they "Oooohed!" and "Aaaahed" as if watching a high wire act at the circus. Indeed, del Potro's game is something of a circus act: Risky, astonishing, otherworldly. When the timing on his forehand is off just a hair, the ball sometimes travels to the back wall on the fly.
Best of all, though, was the way del Potro held his nerve against the sport's most imposing and determined champion. The Argentine said that when he lost the third set, doubts began to creep into his mind. He doubted some more when he lost a break lead in the fourth set, and he looked tired, too. And then, suddenly, his energy went up and his two-handed backhand, beautiful shot that it is, began to find corners far and wide. He seized control of the match in the fourth set tiebreak and in no time held a 3-0 lead in the fifth set. Federer, looking a bit like the out-of-sorts Federer who lost the Australian Open final, had no way out.
"Got to give him all the credit because it's not an easy thing to do, especially coming out against someone like me with so much experience," Federer said. "His effort was fantastic."
Del Potro fell to his back after the final point and began to cry. To his credit, he wouldn't let CBS's limited air time deter him from saying a few words of thanks in Spanish to his family back in Argentina. A little later on, he tried to describe what it meant to win his favorite tournament.
"It's my best sensation ever in my life," he said. "Maybe tomorrow, maybe next week I will be believing in this. But now, I don't know. I don't understand nothing."
If this had been 2008, one suspects, the crowd would have been all over del Potro. Last year, Federer was on a losing streak and seemingly on the decline. This year, though, he's a new man: Married, a father, and now the holder of 15 major titles.
"Don't know how much more I want," Federer said afterwards. "This one I think is easy to get over just because I've had the most amazing summer."
And so after five years, Federer's reign in New York is over. It was time for something different, something new. Welcome, Juan Martin Del Potro. You have arrived.
Tom Perrotta is a senior editor at TENNIS magazine. Follow him on Twitter.