U.S. Open 2017: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal on collision course to meet in semifinals
Federer and Nadal have played 37 times, including 19 on hard courts and nine grand slam finals, but have surprisingly never had to go the distance at the U.S. Open. 2017 continues to redefine their rivalry and see the two players face each other for the first time.
This year’s U.S. Open has suffered from several top seeds either out with injury or defeat, but still the two old guys, collectively known as “fedal,” breezed past their third round opponents and are just two matches away from facing each other yet again in a grand slam, but this time for the first time at Flushing Meadows.
Former world No. 1’s Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray withdrew from the tournament to recuperate from injuries, with Djokovic also preparing for the birth of his second child, which arrived on Saturday. The reigning champion, Stan Wawrinka, Canada’s Milos Raonic, and Kei Nishikori also skipped out with injuries. Alexander Zverev and U.S. Open winner (2014) Marin Cilic were surprising early round exits.
“When you see a lot of seeds going out, you naturally put the focus on you for it not to happen to you,” said Federer, via ESPN, after defeating No. 13 seed Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 Saturday night. “You become more aware of it, that it seems a tournament of the upsets, so it’s going to get you too. You’re going into the match this way.”
Despite an incredible year with two grand slam and Masters 1000 titles under his belt, it looked like the back problems that plagued Federer in the past would crop up to spoil his dream run here. His back bothered him during the final against Zverev in Montreal a few weeks ago, resulting in a loss there and forcing him to withdraw from Cincinnati. Doubt continued as he played tentatively in his first two matches in New York, two five-setters that had him on the court for nearly six hours between the two.
All that was dashed with his win over Feliciano Lopez in three sets in Arthur Ashe Stadium, a near-flawless performance that had him adding to the win gap over the Spaniard, now 12-0. With the back problems behind him, he goes into the next rounds looking like the confident, ageless wonder he did throughout most of the year.
“I needed to get over the fear of the back issue, especially in that first match, the first set,” Federer said via ESPN. “I think now I’m just trusting my movement better. My serve is there. My mind is there. I can finally focus on playing tennis and not so much about the past.”
Federer has every reason to be self-assured. With the remaining opponents before he gets to Nadal, he owns a commanding 28-7 head-to-head: 11-0 to Philipp Kohlschreiber, and possible quarter-finalists 16-5 over Juan Martin del Potro, with only Dominic Thiem having a slight edge with 1-2.
Also looking a bit tarnished has been Fed’s great rival, Rafael Nadal, who battled his second four-set match just before the Swiss, clinching the win over Leonardo Mayer 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 in just over three hours. The top seed and newly minted world No. 1, the Spaniard was starting to look a bit rusty in the first set, but found his rhythm in the last three and seems just as confident as his famous rival. Of the two, he faces the tougher opponent in the next round, Alexandr Dolgopolov, whom Nadal owns their head-to-head with 6-2. He has never faced teenage sensation Andrey Rublev but dominates his other possible quarterfinalist David Goffin 2-0.
Federer hasn’t won the title since 2008 but has five of them in his career. He came close two years ago but lost to Djokovic during his dominant run. Nadal is the more recent New York slam winner, four years ago in 2013. Federer is just five ATP ranking points under Murray, but with his performance at Flushing Meadows, he is assured of achieving at least No. 2. He and Nadal are only separated by 500 points and with the 2,000 points, the tournament winner gets, if either wins the slam, they will be the new world No. 1.
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“For many years Rafa and me, we’ve tried to play against each other here, and it just didn’t work out,” said Federer about the possibility of meeting in the semifinals. “I’m happy I’m still around. Rafa fought well through again today. I’m happy for him, too. We’ll see if it gets done or not. I’m curious to see myself.”
It fathoms the mind that these two icons in sport are still creating history and continuing to define their rivalry. Now all they have to do is get through two matches to give the fans another dream matchup.