LONDON — Argentinean number one, Juan Martin Del Potro, surprised everyone after shocking the former world number one, Roger Federer, in a three-set thriller at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals on Saturday. He summed up a 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-3 victory against the second seed to qualify for the semi-finals at this season-ending tournament taking place in London, England.
Report by AP
Seeded sixth in this event, Del Potro lost his track in the second set, but sought his rhythm again in the deciding set, eventually carving out the victory in their 17th encounter. After outclassing his rival in almost two hours, Del Potro not only lower trail in the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head Series by 4-13 against the 17-time Grand Slam champion and booked a spot in the final four at this indoor hard court event.
Del Potro stated in a courtside interview after stunning the world number two: “At the end, I was thinking maybe (this) could be my last service game of the year if I lose against him. So I put all my concentration (to the task) when I was serving. He’s still the favourite to win the tournament, with (Andy) Murray and (Novak) Djokovic . . . I don’t know who is the No1 favourite. Djokovic, Murray or Federer can win the tournament. I can tell you, I’m the No 4 for sure. Anything can happen. I beat Federer, Novak and Andy a long time ago, so maybe if I have luck, (I) can repeat here.”
Del Potro will square off against top seeded Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals
