'I felt like a loser' - Del Potro recalls painful Roland Garros defeat to Roger Federer
In a candid chat show on ESPN, Juan Martin Del Potro talked about his 'tough' five-set defeat to eventual champion Roger Federer at Roland Garros 2009, and how despondent he felt in the aftermath of the loss.
Months after suffering a devastating double bagel to Roger Federer in the Australian Open quarterfinals, Juan Martin Del Potro provided a far sterner challenge to the Swiss maestro when they met in the Roland Garros semifinal. The better player in the first three sets of that match, Del Potro led Roger Federer two sets to one but wilted in the remainder of the match.
The then 27-year-old Swiss legend ran away with the last two sets to book his place in a fourth consecutive Roland Garros title match, and Del Potro would be left ruing his missed opportunity. Roger Federer went on to beat first-time Grand Slam finalist Robin Soderling in straight sets to win his first and only title at the claycourt Major.
That match hit me a lot: Juan Martin Del Potro reminisces painful defeat to Roger Federer at Roland Garros 2009
Talking with Alejandro Fantino on ESPN, the 2009 US Open champion rued his opportunity to win a maiden Grand Slam title at Roland Garros.
Del Potro believed that failing to complete victory against Roger Federer after having dominated large swathes of the match was a real missed opportunity.
"I felt inside me that it was the opportunity to win my first Grand Slam and I had let it pass. That match hit me a lot, I felt like a loser."
Of course, Del Potro would have another crack at Roger Federer at a Grand Slam tournament that same year, an opportunity that did not go amiss.
The big Argentine recovered from a set down and two points away from defeat to beat Roger Federer in a pulsating five-set Flushing Meadows final later in 2009. Del Potro thus managed to avenge his 'devastating' loss at Roland Garros and become the first Argentine player in over three decades to win a Grand Slam title.
"Then I was lucky that months later I was able to play the US Open final," Del Potro reminisced modestly about his maiden Grand Slam title.
During the same interview, Del Potro also expressed his desire to take his parents to a Grand Slam tournament and introduce them to Roger Federer.
"I have to go back to play and I have to go with my mom and dad and say, 'Roger (Federer), say hi to my old men.' That is something that motivates me. I don't know how I'm going to do it, (but) I played for so many years with wrist pain that if I have to play a little more with knee pain to close a cycle as I like, I make an effort."
Del Potro also spoke about his late grandfather and how he motivated him, instilling him with the belief that he could beat Roger Federer:
"You have to beat Federer, Juancito," he had told his grandson.