The 142nd-ranked Argentine was leading 6-3, 3-2 when the eighth-seeded Austrian retired with a right knee injury having received a medical timeout just moments earlier.
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Wawrinka showed few signs of fatigue (at least early in the match) following his gruelling five-set win over Dan Evans in the third round, producing some sparkling shots on the way to a 6-4 6-1 6-7 6-3 win over his Ukrainian opponent.
No man ranked as low as del Potro has ever made the final of a major.
Del Potro returned to the circuit in February and later pulled off a memorable victory at Wimbledon by ousting Stan Wawrinka before running out of gas against Lucas Pouille – the flashy Frenchman who upset Rafael Nadal on Sunday. Del Potro is playing with pure abandon, and for good reason.
The 31-year-old Swiss player is capable of raising the bar on the big stage, as he did to claim maiden Australian Open and French Open crowns in 2014 and 2015 respectively. So I will try to be there’. Through his blistering performances against the 21st seed Johnson, 11th seed David Ferrer and his first-round opponent Diego Schwartzman, in addition to the injury retirement of Dominic Thiem in the fourth round, Del Potro has picked up where he left off in Rio, waltzing through three quality opponents. The blister was on the toes, but I was all the time like somehow running odd because I couldn’t put all the pressure on the toes.
Asked about his fastest serve, Murray said: “I served one at 145 in San Jose, but the next day they recalibrated the gun, because it was completely wrong”.
After a 6-5 record going back to Wimbledon, Thiem said he would adjust his 2017 schedule.
“I live in the present so I move on”, Venus said.
“You never want to win a match like this”. The Japanese was always in control against the big-serving Croat but needed a tie-break to seal the third set.
Del Potro next battles twice grand slam victor Wawrinka and if he triumphs, Murray looms in the semifinals.
Del Potro, the 2009 champion, faces either Stan Wawrinka or Illya Marchenko for a semi-final place.
Still exhausted after the stunning run to an Olympic silver medal that announced him as a contender again, he got a huge break in spending only 72 minutes on court.
The 2012 U.S. Open champion will face No. 6 Kei Nishikori in the quarterfinals Wednesday.
Del Potro is not only one of the most powerful players on the circuit, he’s also one of the smartest. Against Thiem, virtually every backhand involved both hands.
Del Potro said he was actually close to stepping away from the game for good. If I look now the way he’s playing on hard court, against Ferrer, against all the other players in the Olympics, his backhand is strong.
Now, of course, del Potro is a cautionary tale that has evolved into the saga of a rousing comeback.
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Should del Potro make the semi-finals, he would be the lowest-ranked man to do so at a Grand Slam since 237-ranked Vladimir Voltchkov at Wimbledon in 2000. When I made the decision to do the surgery, I always believe I will come back, for sure.
