NEW YORK,
\nSome things just are not meant to happen. From the moment the draw was made for the US Open, all the talk was about the potential for the first clash between Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal at Flushing Meadows.<\/p>\n
It is a statistical anomaly that finally looked like ending after Nadal crushed Russian teenager Andrey Rublev to reach the last four.<\/p>\n
But yet again, hopes of a New York clash between two of the greatest players of all time were dashed, this time by the giant hands of Juan Martin del Potro as he claimed a 7-5 3-6 7-6(8) 6-4 victory that few saw coming.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t even think about it, as I lost that match, that it\u2019s not going to happen,\u201d Federer said. \u201cOf course it is a pity but, you know, Juan Martin deserves it more. I feel I have no place in the semis and he will have a better chance to beat Rafa, to be honest.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe way I played or playing right now, it\u2019s not good enough in my opinion to win this tournament. It\u2019s better I\u2019m out and somebody else gets a chance to do better than me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Such was the anticipation of fans looking forward to the potential clash between Federer and Nadal, the cheapest tickets for Friday\u2019s semifinals were on offer at well over $700 on the official ticketing website when the match began.<\/p>\n
By the time del Potro had clinched victory to reach his first grand slam semi-final since 2013, they had crashed below $200.<\/p>\n
When del Potro won the title in 2009, he beat Nadal in the semifinals and Federer in the final to clinch his only Grand Slam to date. After three wrist surgeries, he almost quit the sport but is back in the last four and believes he can repeat his 2009 feat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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