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!
Openning game. Rafa serves. Nervy as usual. DP looking calm and playing within himself.
Hi everyone again. Finally, Rafa vs Del Potro. 🙂 Suddenly I don’t know what to expect from this match after so much “pondering”. Guess I’m still a bit too touched by Kevin’s victory and wonderful run as well as nervous about this match.
Hope for a great, great match. We’re so proud of you, Rafa! Please, Kevin is waiting for you. 😇
If Rafa gets through today, kevin andersons serves will be tough to break. But let him get through delpo first!! Wont be long now
Well Rafa, it’s purely down to you now to keep the flag flying high for Spain.Slay the Gentle Giant tonight and the trophy is all but yours. Good Luc
Susie at this rate you might need to bake another cake Lol
Luck not Luc
No more cake – im nearly falling asleep here. Lol. Strong coffee. And congrats to kevin anderson. Shame for pablo bless him
Busta is so good and has great skills …..GO BUSTA GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) : ) 🙂 : ) He is a great player and YOU did a great job dear Rafa supporting and bringing Busta to the Tennis front!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) I really like his style and hope he can hold this set…….
VAMOS DEAR RAFA & enjoy and oh yes…..you are so great at TIE BREAK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) : )
OLA OLA OLA OLA OLA & VAMOS SWEETHEART !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) : ) : ) 🙂 : ) Very happy for you sweetheart!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) Congratulations on your beautiful Tennis and enjoy everything with playful fun and your beautiful classy court presence!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) : ) 🙂 ; ) 🙂 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) : ) : ) We love you and love watching each point you play !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) : ) : ) : ) : ) : ) ci……ci…….ci……& big lovable CI……….. : ) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) LOVE WATCHING YOUR SPECIAL RAFA NADAL CLASSY EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) : ) : ) : ) It will be A GREAT MATCH FOR YOU SWEETHEART and we will be singing GO RAFA GO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) YOU ARE BY FAR THE BETTER & STRONGER PLAYER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) : ) : ) YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) …….& hey lets face it……by far the CUTEST, most precious player !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) 🙂 🙂 🙂 ENJOY EVERYTHING & know we will be SINGING : LETS GO RAFA LETS GO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : ) : ) 🙂 LOVE YOU SWEETTHEART & VAMOS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) VAMOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) VAMOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) Have a beauitful time & lots of love & happiness !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) XOXOXOXOXO
Well I am nervous. It just has to be a day when Rafa does everything right and everything goes his way. That’s what I can wish for!!!
Rafa all the best!!! Be clever, surprise him – don’t be predictable – try not to let your nerves get the better of you- and most of all have confidence in yourself – believe believe believe you win!!!
VAMOS
Rafaaaa, you are late. Another hour or two? Get your buddy off the court.
RAFA ROCKS
Ok so its 11pm uk time and these guys have just started the 3rd set at one set a piece. No way rafa is starting his match at 11.30pm. Sorry Navdeep its going to be a long night indeed
Now there is no way I’ll be able to see the whole match. Maybe the first set that’s it. Keep commenting I’ll watch the scores . Go Rafa
Oh navdeep what a shame. We’ll do our best. Rainier you will have to help navdeep out with some of your excellent commentary.
Susie
What is the update about match time ? It’ll be sunrise here in few minutes!
They’re warming up now so very soon play will start
Thank God! Finally . Come on Rafa win a set quickly and thank you Susie you have been really helpful.
Vamos
You’re welcome
Okay so for the last one and a half days everyone, pundits and fans alike, has been talking about the usual suspects – DP’s supposed-to-be liable BH against Rafa’s wicked, spinny FH – the ultimate test for any player’s BH; and DP’s scary rocket FH against everyone’s whateverHand.
Mat Wilander: ‘If DP could win a set, I would be very surprised.’
John McEnrore: “DP have the game to frustrate him and it will be a close match.’
Rafa openly discusses his intention to attack DP’s BH and not let him hit his FH from comfortable positions in his interview.
DP fires back with the reply his BH has been improving match by match and that he won against Federer with that it as well. So true.
Not only that, he served extremely well in that match and passed Fed Rafaly off both wings, while his Fearhand was just off the chart.
AND like Rafa, he’s one of a few true big match players. “Lion heart” as they say and can feed on the energy from the crowd.
So what Rafa could, or should do here, besides trying to bully that actually very good BH? Especially good in pressure moments and on big points like in the Fed match?
While I agree that Fed totally failed to do that and gradually lost the plot and the match and that Rafa will be much much more committed, his FH, as lethal as it could be, could also a double-edged sword if he’s not careful for a second or can’t sustain hitting it at the highest level he could *consistently*.
In other words, his high balls could sit up right to a comfortable zone for DP to tee off, especially if they don’t have enough bite/depth/both to either make it hard for DP to control his return or blow him off the court.
In fact in their last match, the Rios Olympics SF last year, DP was trying to attack Rafa’s FH instead of his BH, which btw has never been truly broken by any FH in the world, including Fed’s, except during some worst patches of his career in 2015-16.
Granted Rafa’s wrist wasn’t fully healed at the time. And even so DP only won the match after a TB in the decider. It was a toss up.
Still DP is one of the most dangerous opponents for Rafa on HC, no doubt about that. Don’t get ahead of yourself, dear Rafa fans, if you think “Rafa got this”, or “the title is Rafa’s now’ after Fed is out.
DP is the one who took him out.
He has every ability to prove you wrong. Remember, not only he has the game, he’s a BIG match player. And he will have a fare share of cheering from the crowd tonight.
Now, back to the headaching BH-FH-FH-BH thing. 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.
Rafa’s BH is probably one of the most stable shots out there on the tour. Even at his late stage of his career, it still has a lot potentials to be better and become a lethal weapon.
Its consistency has been far more reliable than his FH for as long as I remember (okay, since 2014 :p).
No, I don’t think it is as good now as it was in 2010 and 2013 or at RG this year. 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.
Yep he has been broken 6 times already, DP 10. But more than often he broke himself more than his opponent broke him. His nerves. AND his 2nd serve stats are the best now as it was during RG.
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.
Sorry for this long winded piece again. The first semis has just started. See you “in” Rafa’s match.
Vamos! 🙂
Good luck Carreno Busta – Lets make it an all Spanish final , show Roger you deserve your place after he commented that you had been cruising and had enjoyed an easy ride .
Rainer not only intelligent and witty but blooming healthy as well Lol.
Is that what roger said Maria? Is there no stopping his arrogance? Cant believe he is worshipped by so many people. The man is full of jealousy!! I can watch eurosports repeat of delpo kicking his ass, all day long.
Hi Susie yes that’s what I read . I have just read another article that will get your blood boiling , here’s a snippet: Roger Federer is a genius, and Rafael Nadal a mere champion
There’s a grace about Federer which is captivating. Where Rafael Nadal is all sinew, Elastoplast strapping and brutality, Federer makes the same sport look all rather effortless.
You can read the full article online- The Sydney Morning Herald
That is outrageous and not true!! Everyone loves Roger and I don’t see it. Yes he’s a brilliant tennis player but so are many players. Personally, lately, I think the man is a bit of a bafoon with some of the stuff he is saying. And he’s a sore loser.
Haha. Maria. They didn’t even understand what they were writing. Who cares? Doesn’t change anything and certainly doesn’t affect Rafa a bit. He still keeps going and surprising us time and time again. Now that’s the real thing and anyone can get. 🙂
Oh I forgot. There’s a preview for this match on Guardian and that, sorry, pathetic sport writer could even dare to type Rafa’s FH while lethal on clay, is “NOT BAD” on hard court – and then publish it.
Hahahaha. One of the most blasphemous things ever written in tennis.
All-Spanish final wasn’t meant to be but Rainier has been ‘blooming’ here again lately indeed, Maria. Many thanks for your kind words. I will keep babbling with all my might whenever I have time.
Still can’t sleep now because I’m so excited about Rafa’s level of play. 😊
Night night there, Maria and Susie and the gangs.🌜 🐱🐶🐱🌛
Hi everyone. How are you doing today? Are you nervous?
It’s one hour before the 1st SF and I’m preparing for a long long night. 🙂
You better eat now Rainier if you can’t eat during the matches as it is going to be a very long night indeed. Lol
No worries, Susie. I had already filled my stomach with all delicious foods before coming here babbling :p.
Oh no eurosport have just said rafas match is not on before 11.30pm UK time – it’s getting later and later. Can’t stand the wait
Another bummer !😥
It will be worth the wait Susie, and on the bright side at least it’s the weekend Lol.
Very true Maria. Im looking forward to it but anxious too.
Let’s just keep our fingers crossed and plenty of ☕ 🍰 🍪 🍫 to keep us going 😵
Oh yes Maria – for sure. We need the energy. I baked a cake just to keep us going here. I have a feeling it won’t last too long.
Oh Maria and Susie. I could almost smell the freshly brewed coffee/tea and freshly baked cake her ^ ^. I only drink my herbal tea. Can’t eat anything during important matches.
Maria, There wasn’t a reply button on your post referring to the genius article about Fed so I am replying here. Yes, I read that article and I was shocked. The article was evidently meant to sugar coat Roger’s defeat to Del Potro and play down Rafa’s win. This sort of thing is what the press, the retired tennis players, the commentators , the tournament officials do all the time to promote the Federer legacy. Certainly at age 36 he has achieved so much and deserves that recognition but genius? while Rafa is merely a champion. Then all that carry on about Fed’s grace, elegance, etc. and remarks about Rafa’s strokes lokking like a sledge hammer knocking down a wall.!!
This article is the most biased I have ever read . What is wrong with these people? There is a big difference between admiration and pure hero worship taken to the extremes.
As an Australian I am disappointed to know this came from a very respected Australian. newspaper .
Yellow journalism at its best. The most biased piece of crap I have ever read.
RAFA IS ROCKIN THE US OPEN
A 3am start! You gotta be kidding😬😬😭😭
5 More hours to go.
ROCKIN RAFA
Oh navdeep – if you stay awake for the match you are indeed a true rafa fan!! Hope you manage it. It’s on at about 10.30pm in the UK so not quite so bad here.
I’ll definitely try Susie. Actually I have this 3 am experience before in 2013 when Nadal beat djokovic in 2013 final. The match time was 3:20 am if i remember correctly. I prepare for these big matches because I know the US timing will certainly create problems . You know you have to find ways to watch the match , after all it’ s about Rafa.
Very true navdeep. When it’s early hours of the morning for me I go to bed early and then get up for the match. Then go back to sleep if there’s time before work. What a life. Lol
‘What a life’. Absolutely right .👌👌
I’m so frustrated. The matches have started now with the doubles but Eurosport has chosen to only show the girls semi-finals. Don’t know where else I could watch. I wonder if they will show the men’s singles semi-finals.
😱😭😭😭
Hi rafa fan 1 – just got home from work and eurosport 1 is showing the mens doubles finals and will show both mens semis. Hope you’re watching now.
Hi Susie.
I’ve just watched the men’s doubles final not long ago. Lopezx2 squandered the break in the 1set and it only went downhill from there with them losing in straight sets, squandering some golden chances given by their nervous opponents. Such a shame but still a great run for them and congrats to champions. They played great despite some almost costly nerves.
I was wishing Rafa could have been their cheering for his friends but of course he had his extremely important preparation. Looking forward to see Marc in Rafa’s box today. 🙂
(Sorry for the typo, “could have been there”.)
Hi Rainier. Yes watched the end of the doubles final. Marc and Feliciano are such good sports. Yes hoping to see Marc courtside for rafa’s match. I’ve seen him there a couple of times over the last fortnight – unless he decides to drown his sorrows and who could blame him. Lol
I strongly believe he will be there, Susie. He’s such a dear friend of Rafa. He will be there. 🙂
Hi Rafa fan.
You can watch the majority of the matches on eurosport player, or almost every match even on the Challenger/Futures tour on streaming sites. Batmanstream is very popular. I can’t post the link here so just google it.
Cheers. 🙂
Good luck Marc and Feliciano, make this the first win of the night for Spain 🇪🇸
Rafa Good luck tonight , and see you in the finals🙏
Ahh what good sports Marc and Feliciano are Maria. Im sorry they lost. I really hope rafa’s not as nervous as I am and we have hours to wait yet. Im going to make myself useful for a couple of hours – maybe that’ll settle me.
8 More hours, the countdown continues.
RAFA ROCKS THE US OPEN
I’m counting down the hours to Rafa’s match against DelPo. After his last two wins, Rafa looks very confident. I’m sure he’ll have worked out with Carlos Moyà, a winning strategy. Your team, family and fans are right behind you Rafa! Relax and show your superior tennis IQ. Good luck!
I know what you mean. I can’t wait for this match either… stepping stone on to greater things for our Rafa.
6-0 6-1 6-0 Or something similar and we will be laughing at ourselves for ever worrying a little bit about the outcome of this match.
Come on Rafa, make this dream come true and send Del Potro back to Argentina where that prime steak is awaiting him- he deserves it. Get it done champ!!
I just want to extend my very best wishes to Rafa when he faces Juan Martin today.
What a super tasty semi-final! I know they’ll both bring it with all their heart and soul out there.
Can’t wait to watch!
I also want to congratulate Marc and Feliciano for making the finals of the Men’s Doubles.
Best wishes to them.
I also want to congratulate Pablo for making the other men’s semi-final against Kevin.
He is such a steady and solid player. So happy for him reaching his very first grand slam semi-final.
I also want to congratulate Garbine for landing the # 1 ranking for the women.
What remarkable achievements for Spain!
Vamos, Rafa!!!
Six hours more before Champion Nadal sets foot on court.
RAFA ROCKS
OOOPS Eleven hours, not six. He is scheduled to play at 18:00, local time.
RAFA ROCKS THE US OPEN