Juan Martín del Potro, who has lifted the 2017 US Open out of the mire with one heroic performance, is now expected to do it all again when he meets Roger Federer in the quarter-finals on Wednesday, and that is asking a lot of the ailing Argentinian with the big game and even bigger heart.
If Del Potro, still struggling physically, somehow rises to the occasion a second time in three days, and if he repeats his win over the No3 seed that delivered him his only slam title here in 2009, he will have to ride the love of the crowd who roared him on to his impossible victory over Dominic Thiem on Monday night. It is asking a lot for a Federer opponent to win over the fans, but “Delpo”, who has that gentle-giant mien, a kind face and unbending will, might just do it.
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