Majorca’s favourite tennis player Rafa Nadal returned to serious competitive tennis after an injury laid him off for several months at the U.S. Open, but he could only reach the semi-final stages.

 

But considering he was out of the game and missed this yer’s Wimbledon, it was a good preformance that islanders hope will see Rafa return to his winning ways before too long.

 

The surprise winner was Juan Martin del Potro.

 

In the final it was the fourth set where the Argentine showed his strengths and focused concentration. With this set tied 4-4, Roger Federer took the lead with a strong backhand. He then got del Potro in a position wher he only needed two points to win the Championship.

 

Del Potro didn’t crumble under the pressure. He served an ace and a forehand shot down the line as well. He battled Federer and forced the fourth set into a tiebreaker. Federer then committed two forehand errors in the tiebreak, which cost him the set.

 

With momentum in del Potro’s favor, the fifth set was less difficult for him. He broke Federer’s serve early in this set. This was through a blistering forehand passing shot that went cross-court. This gave del Potro a 2-0 lead. He subsequently fought Federer harder and another impressive forehand gave del Potro the set and the title.

 

The loss was the first one in 41 matches at Flushing Meadows for Roger Federer. This year, Federer won the French Open and Wimbledon Championship. He has the distinction of holding the all-time record for men’s singles with 15 Grand Slam titles.

 

Juan Martin del Potro began playing tennis when he was six-years old. This was in Tandil, located outside of Buenos Aires in Argentina. By the time he was 17, he was the youngest player on the tour to finish the season in the Top 200. The next year, he was the youngest player on the tour to finish the season in the Top 100.

 

With his U.S. Open showing, del Potro is the first player to beat Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer back-to-back at a major. One of his strengths is his return shots of great force. The challenge now for del Potro is to build on this and his other strengths for consistent performance, and to break the dominace of Roger Federer and of course Rafael Nadal.

Tags: Federer, nadal, sport, sports, tennis

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