Eight years and four wrist surgeries since ending Roger Federer’s 40-match US Open win streak, Juan Martin del Potro returns to Arthur Ashe Stadium for a rematch. The Argentine is 5-16 in his FedEx ATP Head2Head record with Federer.
All five of his wins have come on hard courts, none more meaningful than when he rallied from a set-and-a-break down to deny Federer a sixth straight US Open title in 2009. Del Potro can prevent history from being made again as Federer and Rafael Nadal are one win from meeting for the first time at the US Open. The Swiss and Spaniard have been this close six times now, including in 2009, when del Potro defeated Nadal 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 in the semi-finals before beating Federer in the final.
Federer started the tournament with back-to-back five-set battles over Frances Tiafoe and Mikhail Youzhny, before he found his rhythm against Feliciano Lopez and Philipp Kohlschreiber. Del Potro, by contrast, cruised through his opening three matches in straight sets, against Henri Laaksonen, Adrian Menendez-Maceiras and No. 11 seed Roberto Bautista Agut, before saving two match points and fighting back from two sets down for the first time in his career to defeat No. 6 seed Dominic Thiem in the fourth round.
View FedEx ATP Head2Head matchups for the following matches at the US Open and vote for who you think will win!
Nadal vs. Rublev | Federer vs. del Potro
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Nadal’s quarter-final opponent on Wednesday is #NextGenATP player Andrey Rublev. The 19-year-old Russian is the youngest US Open quarter-finalist since Andy Roddick in 2001.
Rublev would be the youngest semi-finalist at the US Open since Lleyton Hewitt in 2000 and at any Grand Slam event since Nadal at 2005 Roland Garros. A teenager has never defeated a World No. 1 at the US Open dating back to the start of the Emirates ATP Rankings in 1973.
Nadal vs. Rublev marks the first meeting between a 30-something and a teenager in a Grand Slam quarter-final, semi-final or final since Pete Sampras, 19, defeated John McEnroe, 31, in the 1990 US Open semi-finals.
Nadal rebounded from slow starts in each of his first three rounds, downing Dusan Lajovic in straight sets, before four-set triumphs over Taro Daniel and Leonardo Mayer. He produced his most convincing win of the tournament over Alexandr Dolgopolov in the fourth round.
Rublev has dropped just one set en route to his maiden Grand Slam quarter-final, against Damir Dzumhur in the third round. He breezed past Aljaz Bedene in the opening round and posted straight-sets upsets over No. 7 seed Grigor Dimitrov (second round) and No. 9 seed David Goffin (fourth round).
The No. 1 ranking is on the line in Wednesday’s quarter-finals. If Federer wins and Nadal loses, Federer will return to the top of the Emirates ATP Rankings on Monday and become the oldest World No. 1 since rankings were established in 1973.
If Federer loses, Nadal will remain No. 1 next week regardless of his result against Rublev. If Federer and Nadal both win, their first US Open meeting on Friday will determine who is No. 1 in Monday’s rankings.
GRAPPLE IN THE APPLE
Legendary boxing promoter Don King billed it the ‘Grapple in the Apple’ in 2008, but Federer and Nadal have never played at the US Open. On five occasions, they were only a match away when one of the two lost.
| Year | Round | Who Lost? | What Happened? |
| 2008 | SF | Nadal | Nadal lost to Murray, who lost to Federer in final. |
| 2009 | SF | Nadal | Nadal lost to del Potro, who beat Federer in final. |
| 2010 | SF | Federer | Federer held 2 MPs but lost to Djokovic, who lost to Nadal in final. |
| 2011 | SF | Federer | Federer held 2 MPs but lost to Djokovic, who lost to Nadal in final. |
| 2013 | 4R | Federer | Federer lost to Robredo, who lost to eventual champion Nadal in QF. |