On Friday, Rafael Nadal will face Juan Martin del Potro for a spot in the US Open final.
The Argentine defeated Roger Federer in four sets. His victory means Fedal will end another year having never played each other in New York.
Rafa is now also guaranteed to keep hold of the number one ranking ahead of Federer.
Date: 8 September 2017
Match time: NOT BEFORE 5:30 PM EDT – New York, Montreal / 10:30 PM BST – United Kingdom / 11:30 PM CET – Spain, France, Germany, Italy / Saturday 7:30 AM AEDT – Melbourne. To convert to your local time, use this website.
Rafa on facing Delpo:
If I play against him, of course I have to play my best tennis.
I need to be very focused with my serve and play aggressive, because if you let him play from good positions with his forehand, you are dead, because he plays super-aggressive, hitting so hard.
So probably he’s unstoppable from that positions, no? I need to play long, I need to play against his backhand, and then open the court.
Delpo on facing Rafa:
Well I played him in 2009 too, the same as Roger, and hopefully I can achieve the same result.
We look older but Rafa is playing a great season. He’s No. 1 in the world but with this amazing support, everything can happen.
Rafa leads the big man from Tandil 8-5 over their careers, but they haven’t played this season. Delpo has won their past two meetings and in 2009 he beat Rafa 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 in the US Open semi-finals. Here are all the matches they have played against each other:
| YEAR | EVENT | SURFACE | RND | WINNER | RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games Brazil |
Outdoor Hard | SF | Juan Martin del Potro |
57 64 765 |
| 2013 | ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Shanghai China |
Outdoor Hard | SF | Juan Martin del Potro |
62 64 |
| 2013 | ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells CA, U.S.A. |
Outdoor Hard | F | Rafael Nadal |
46 63 64 |
| 2011 | ESP vs.ARG DC Final Spain |
RR | Rafael Nadal |
16 64 61 760 |
|
| 2011 | Wimbledon Great Britain |
Outdoor Grass | R16 | Rafael Nadal |
766 36 764 64 |
| 2011 | ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Madrid Spain |
Outdoor Clay | R16 | Rafael Nadal |
W/O |
| 2011 | ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells CA, U.S.A. |
Outdoor Hard | SF | Rafael Nadal |
64 64 |
| 2009 | US Open NY, U.S.A. |
Outdoor Hard | SF | Juan Martin del Potro |
62 62 62 |
| 2009 | ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Canada Canada |
Outdoor Hard | QF | Juan Martin del Potro |
765 61 |
| 2009 | ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami FL, U.S.A. |
Outdoor Hard | QF | Juan Martin del Potro |
64 36 763 |
| 2009 | ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells CA, U.S.A. |
Outdoor Hard | QF | Rafael Nadal |
62 64 |
| 2007 | London / Queen’s Club Great Britain |
Outdoor Grass | R32 | Rafael Nadal |
64 64 |
| 2007 | Roland Garros France |
Outdoor Clay | R128 | Rafael Nadal |
75 63 62 |
| 2007 | ATP Masters Series Miami FL, U.S.A. |
Outdoor Hard | R16 | Rafael Nadal |
60 64 |
GOOD LUCK & VAMOS RAFA!
VAMOS SWEETHEART!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) 🙂 🙂 : ) CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR BEAUTIFUL VICTORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) 🙂 : ) VERY HAPPY FOR YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ); ) : ) : ) : ) YOU ARE SO SPECIAL WITH YOUR FANTASTIC TENNIS & IT IS VERY EXCITING TO WATCH YOU LIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) 🙂 😉 😉 MUCHAS GRACIAS SENIOR CHAMP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) VAMOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) VAMOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) VAMOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) YOU TOOK HIM TO THE CLEANERS WITH YOUR CLASSY COMPETITIVENESS & BRILLIANT POINT BY POINT MAGIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) : ) : ) GO RAFA GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) 🙂 🙂 🙂 Have a great celebration tonight with your beautiful family and THE TEAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) 🙂 😉 🙂 We are so happy for you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) enjoy it all sweetheart!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) : ) 🙂 : ) GREAT MATCH & VERY EXCITING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) : ) 🙂 ; ) WE LOVE YOU DEAR RAFA NADAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) : ) : ) 🙂 YOU ARE BY FAR THE THE THE BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) : ) ; ) 😉 ; ) 🙂 You moved with such grace and your coverage of the entire court was brilliant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) 🙂 😉 😉 🙂 Have fun sweetheart & enjoy your talent and grace . Have a lovely evening and a great beautiful day tomorrow!!!!!! : ) : ) 🙂 : ) 🙂 VAMOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) VAMOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) VAMOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) Match by match you are gliding & sliding & making brilliant Tennis on the move with speed & fitness & so much AGGRESSIVE POWERFUL SHOTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) 🙂 🙂 🙂 Have lots * lots of fun playing the final & enjoy everything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) 😉 😉 😉 😉 ; 🙂 Good night sweetheart & sweet dreams!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) : ) : ) : ) KEEP GOING DEAR RAFA & WE ARE WITH YOU ALL THE WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) : ) l!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ci…….ci…….ci……ci……ci……ci……..& extra lovable big CI…….. You are an extraordinary Tennis genius!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) 🙂 🙂 You mixed your play and serve and returns so wisely….. pure magic !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) 🙂 🙂 we are so happy for you !!!!!!!! : ) : ) 🙂 Lots of love & happiness & keep smiling!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) : ) : ) 🙂 : ) XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO : ) : ) : ) : ) 😉
Sorry for quoting myself. But I’m so proud of Rafa and a bit proud of myself :p. Guess all those.. everything has paid off.
Rainier
“But I hope Rafa will trust it more in this match and give us the best BH performance on HC this year, going toe to toe with DP’s FH, and especially avoid running around his BH too much. Shows confidence in his trustworthy companion and lets DP feel it.
Let him think a bit.”
“In other words, Rafa’s BH has every potential to win him this match as his FH, imho, along with his serve. He doesn’t have to rely on the ever FH-BH CC exchanges to win matches all the time.”
“Also, as shaky as he may look at times, he is still the hardest player to break in the tournament. And his high level is no doubt the highest.”
“He won’t get many chances to break DP if DP serves well, but his return game is still some levels above DP’s. So if he doesn’t blink in his own service game, he will definitely break sooner or later.”
“To make a long story short, we need a CLUTCH Rafa, more even FH-BH Rafa, Moya-serve and ruthless Rafa running DP around – regardless of how well DP can play (unless he could goat throughout the match, which is simply unlikely). And he will win this, probably in 4.”
^ ^
“DP’s FH can rocket all it wants, his BH can withstand Rafa’s FH’s onslaught as much as it could – I think the key here is how Rafa can exploit DP’s movement AND doesn’t show any fear for that FH.”
Surprise DP! Like how he surprised Rafa.”
Okay. I’ll stop.
Love you all. <3
VAMOS SWEETHEART!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) 🙂 🙂 : ) CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR BEAUTIFUL VICTORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) 🙂 : ) VERY HAPPY FOR YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ); ) : ) : ) : ) YOU ARE SO SPECIAL WITH YOUR FANTASTIC TENNIS & IT IS VERY EXCITING TO WATCH YOU LIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) 🙂 😉 😉 MUCHAS GRACIAS SENIOR CHAMP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) VAMOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) VAMOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) VAMOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) YOU TOOK HIM TO THE CLEANERS WITH YOUR CLASSY COMPETITIVENESS & BRILLIANT POINT BY POINT MAGIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) : ) : ) GO RAFA GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) 🙂 🙂 🙂 Have a great celebration tonight with your beautiful family and THE TEAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) 🙂 😉 🙂 We are so happy for you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) enjoy it all sweetheart!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) : ) 🙂 : ) GREAT MATCH & VERY EXCITING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) : ) 🙂 ; ) WE LOVE YOU DEAR RAFA NADAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) : ) : ) 🙂 YOU ARE BY FAR THE THE THE BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) : ) ; ) 😉 ; ) 🙂 You moved with such grace and your coverage of the entire court was brilliant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) 🙂 😉 😉 🙂 Have fun sweetheart & enjoy your talent and grace . Have a lovely evening and a great beautiful day tomorrow!!!!!! : ) : ) 🙂 : ) 🙂 VAMOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) VAMOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) VAMOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) Match by match you are gliding & sliding & making brilliant Tennis on the move with speed & fitness & so much AGGRESSIVE POWERFUL SHOTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) 🙂 🙂 🙂 Have lots * lots of fun playing the final & enjoy everything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) 😉 😉 😉 😉 ; 🙂 Good night sweetheart & sweet dreams!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) : ) : ) : ) KEEP GOING DEAR RAFA & WE ARE WITH YOU ALL THE WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) : ) l!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ci…….ci…….ci……ci……ci……ci……..& extra lovable big CI…….. You are an extraordinary Tennis genius!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) 🙂 🙂 You mixed your play and serve and returns so wisely….. pure magic !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) 🙂 🙂 we are so happy for you !!!!!!!! : ) : ) 🙂 Lots of love & happiness & keep smiling!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) : ) : ) 🙂 : ) XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO : ) : ) : ) : ) 😉
So HAPPY for Rafa. He’s made us his fans super proud of the way he came through in this match. That 6-0 set was a wonder to behold. Fire & Fury, tennis edition 🙂
I guess Del Potro ran out of steam, but what a great tournament he’s had. Rafa was not to be denied tonight. His intensity overpowered Delpo and that was that. What a beauty, simply wonderful tennis!
Thanks Rafa. One more match to go. You can do it champ!
Typo ….as he said…
Truly awesome! What an intelligent match Rafa played. As he sai, he realised that hitting constantly to DelPo’s BH wasn’t going to do it, so he mixed it up and got DelPo running and hitting balls to his FH. How smart. What a great tennis IQ! Now who’s laughing Roger?
Im so happy and even happier for rafa. All the hard work has paid off. Good luck for the final rafa if you can beat delpo you can beat kevin. Oh and roger – stick that up your voodoo doll and smoke it!!!
Yes champ you did it congratulations in the final. I am so happy for you Enjoy this with your family and then prepare for sunday against anderson.
If you play sunday like you play the second third and fourth set and keep your composure and dont get tense you will bite in the throphy sunday.
RAFA!!
I’ve been smiling so much throughout the match my face muscles hurt. 😂😂
Gotta say it again. I’m SO proud of Rafa and happy for him and everybody.
Vamos!!! 💪🏻💪🏻🇪🇸🇪🇸🎾🎾😍😍