Del Potro beats Federer yet again; sends Murray home early
Del Potro played some of his best tennis to secure a fascinating win yet again versus World No.1
London: Argentinean Juan Martin del Potro scored possibly his second biggest career win to pack off home favourite Andy Murray at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 Arena late Thursday night.
Del Potro’s first real crowning moment of glory came at this year’s US Open final for his maiden Grand Slam title.
And last night he dug in deep and played some of his best tennis to secure a fascinating 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-3 win yet again versus World No.1 and newly crowned world champion Roger Federer before a packed O2 Arena here.
The result meant an earlier short trip back home for local hero Murray, who was relying heavily on the outcome of the match. At the end of the round robin fixtures for Group A, all three – Federer, Del Potro and Murray had identical records. But the one aspect that went against Murray was that he won just one game less than the ‘Tower of Tandil’ from Argentina.
For the sake of interest, Federer had a 44-40 record, Del Potro had 45-43 and Murray in third place in the group having won 44 and lost 43 games in the three matches played.
Last year in Shanghai it was a somewhat similar story with Murray inflicting a three-set defeat on Federer to deny the Swiss ace a spot in the semifinals. However, the grueling result affected the Scot as he went down in straight sets to eventual runner-up Nikolay Davydenko.
Last night, Del Potro tasted early success as he broke Federer in the first and fifth games for a comfortable 5-1 lead. He then held to take the set 6-2 in 38 minutes.
But the second was a complete contrast with the Swiss trying too many things and missing. However, he did manage to escape by the slimmest of margins to win it 7-5 in the tie-breaker in 51 minutes.
In the deciding third set, Federer self-destructed in the eighth game and del Potro took the opportunity to serve out for game, set and match 6-3 in two hours and six minutes of on-court action.
Group A record:
Position Name Matches Sets Games
1. Federer 2-1 5-4 44-40
2. Del Potro 2-1 5-4 45-43
3. Murray 2-1 5-4 44-43
Result: Juan Martin del Potro bt Roger Federer 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-3
