On Monday Garbine Muguruza and Rafael Nadal will be the Queen and King of Tennis. It is an incredible achievement for Spain.
NEW YORK, FLUSHING MEADOWS – On Wednesday, Garbine Muguruza of Spain has officially become the new world No. 1 in the WTA rankings thanks to the defeat of Karolina Pliskova against CoCo Vandeweghe in the quarterfinals at the US Open. On the same day, Rafael Nadal, who convincingly prevailed over young Rublev of Russia, consolidated his spot at the top of the ATP rankings after a resurgent Juan Martin del Potro took out Roger Federer – Nadal’s long-term rival and most dangerous challenger to the Spaniard’s throne. Unless Federer goes on a roll in Shanghai, Basel, Paris-Bercy and London, Nadal is in very good position to finish the year as the world No. 1.
Nadal is now the favorite to capture the US Open title, even though his semifinal opponent Juan Martin del Porto represents a very serious challenge. It will be interesting to see how Rafa will fare against Juan Martin’s “rocket” forehand that caused Roger so many problems in the quarters.
It is almost inexplicable why Federer continued to attack and address most of his serves to del Potro’s forehand. Enjoying incredible support from Argentinian fans that managed to get tickets for the higher sections in Arthur Ashe Stadium, del Potro battled like a lion from the beginning until the end of the thrilling encounter, during which Federer didn’t quite reproduce the same magical tennis that he showed in Australia and at Wimbledon earlier this year.
Roger committed too many unforced errors, missed several volleys along with an easy overhead in a crucial moment and double-faulted in key junctions of the match. “My mind wasn’t completely clear, I didn’t return well and that enabled him to immediately take control of the rally. I didn’t play well enough to match del Potro today,” Federer said in his post-match press conference.
“I don’t want to take anything away from del Potro, who played very well and deserved to win, but I haven’t felt at 100% since the beginning of the tournament and I wasn’t able to prepare physically, mentally and technically as I would have liked to. At the beginning of the tournament when I played five sets against Tiafoe and Youzhny, I was worried about my back. Today it didn’t bother me and I was able to serve without any problems, but inside of me I didn’t have the same positive attitude as in Australia, Indian Wells or Miami. I was feeling very insecure and didn’t capitalize on the opportunities when they presented themselves,” Roger candidly explained to the Swiss press.
“Fedal” has almost become a curse at the US Open and will probably never materialize in New York. In the past, the two great rivals often seemed on a collision course until their much-anticipated clash suddenly evaporated. This year, we witnessed the same old story.
When asked about his semifinal against Nadal, Juan Martin explained: “Rafa is a lefty, so he can easily find my backhand. I am not sure about what tactics I will use, but I will certainly try to hit winners with my forehand and not to run too much. My legs are tired.”
Juan Martin remains one of the most popular and liked players on the ATP Tour. After four surgeries and a long hiatus from the game, everybody is extremely happy to see him back.
(Article translation provided by T&L Global – Translation & Language Solutions – www.t-lglobal.com )
