NEW YORK — Argentine Juan Martín del Potro was giving his friend Emanuel Ginóbili a tour of the inner corridors of Arthur Ashe Stadium in 2022 when a brilliant quip of his was picked up by the microphones.
“Federer, Federer, Federer, Federer, Federer… and here’s where I screwed him,” Del Potro told the former basketball player, standing in front of the men’s locker room wall that displays the name of every US Open champion.
In 2009, the Argentine prevented Roger Federer from winning a sixth consecutive US Open title. That 14 September was the last time a non-European player won a Grand Slam.
Since then, European dominance in men’s tennis has been brutal — primarily thanks to Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, who between them won 39 of the 76 big events completed since the Argentine’s triumph to date.
In the current edition of the US Open, five players still have a chance to break European dominance: Argentine Francisco Cerúndolo, and North Americans Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe, Alex Michelsen and Learner Tien.
Ver esta publicación en Instagram
None of them, however, knows what it is to play a Grand Slam final — only Tiafoe (twice) and Shelton have reached semifinals.
Carlos Alcaraz could defend his title in the United States and extend European dominance by another year, facing only local opponents from the fourth round onwards. He dispatched Tommy Paul on Sunday and will face left-hander Shelton on Tuesday — an opponent he has beaten both times they have played.
“Carlos looks very normal which is impressive after not playing for five months. It will be a great match. Never played him here in New York, and obviously in the position that I want to be in,” the two-time Masters 1000 Canada champion told the media.
If the Spaniard wins, the North American tasked with stopping him will be Tiafoe or Alex Michelsen.
“I saw Alex in challengers and he was winning a bunch. I had no idea who this kid was — man, this guy is killing it. I could see his name, winning and winning. That was kind of my first impression,” Tiafoe said of Michelsen, after beating Russian Daniil Medvedev in three sets at Louis Armstrong Stadium.
Michelsen, 22, is in his first Grand Slam quarterfinal. He got there without dropping a set.
Ver esta publicación en Instagram
“I love being under the radar. There are a lot of guys younger than me that have been playing super well — I haven’t deserved the attention, and I’m all good with it. You get what you earn,” said the world number 46.
The player who had the entire tennis world watching was Cerúndolo, with his remarkable comeback on the main stage. Taylor Fritz felt it. The Argentine made no effort to hide his joy: “My first time on Arthur Ashe, and I came back from two sets down against a top ten. I was a break down in the third. These are matches you carry with you for life.”
“Throughout the whole tour I hadn’t found this level — I was looking for it and couldn’t find it, but given how well I’ve been training, I knew it would come,” explained Cerúndolo, the highest-ranked South American in the world (25th).
He will face Belgian Alexandre Blockx on Monday for a place in the last eight.
There he could meet Tien, survivor of the class-of-2005 showdown: he comes in having beaten Jakub Mensik in five sets. His obstacle will be Russian Karen Khachanov.
