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As Juan Martin del Potro stands, his opponent, Rafael Nadal, approaches to help him. The highest ranked player in the world, Nadal had just won his grueling quarter-final. (Tony O 'Brien / Reuters)
WIMBLEDON – For a 6 foot 6 inch Argentinian who ran full throttle for over three miles trying to submit world number one Rafael Nadal, this He was not the way he wanted to end his five-hour quarter-final on Wimbledon's central court: clumsily falling on a split-second split and landing face-to-face in defeat.
But after gathering his long sore limbs and getting up, Juan Martin del Potro found Nadal there, after stepping over the net to be the first to reach out, salute his efforts and console himself by hugging them [19659004] Less than an hour later, Del Potro appeared in the All England Club's interview room to answer questions about how he had lost and why. He then repeated the process with the Spanish-speaking media, having already spoken to three Argentine radio stations immediately after leaving the court – giving each sports journalist a chance to probe his emotions and dissect his decision-making, as he did. had done after every game before the quarter-finals of Wednesday
There are no points for grace through tennis, just as there is none for sportsmanship . Expressions of the two usually go without marking. A camera can capture a poignant moment at the net between winner and loser. But at Wimbledon, as at many tennis tournaments, civility and sportsmanship demonstrations take place long after the television cameras have stopped and the cameras have moved
[ Roger Federer nods, Rafael Nadal goes to semifinals]
In Grand Slam tournaments such as at Wimbledon, players must come for interviews, win or lose. But there is no requirement that they do so in good faith. It is the right of players to answer by word or eye answers, to read text messages while reporters ask questions or simply to stand up and go out when they are at home. contrast with tone or subject
. A handshake is expected, if not mandatory, in the sport. Yet not all sincere. Some are openly frosted – a finger-touch "touch" with minimal contact, as if the opponent has cooties.
It is a lot to ask the vanquished – look at his opponent in the eye and reach out, Then sit for interviews that may look like inquisitions
At this Wimbledon, for all the words written on the forehands and the fighting spirit of Federer, Nadal and del Potro, their sportiness and civility also justify a few words.
What made their post-match behavior so remarkable Wednesday was the high stakes of the moment and the extreme lengths at which they had gone trying to take advantage of it – Federer vs. Africa South Kevin Anderson on Court One; Del Potro and Nadal on the central court
According to the tracker "Distance Run" of IBM, del Potro had traveled 4,858 meters (just over three miles) in defeat – at full speed, staggering, reaching and leaping. Falling – on wet grass in shoes with small dimples on the soles, rather than crampons, to keep it upright.
Roger Federer answers questions in three languages after Kevin Anderson's quarter-final defeat. (Florian Eisele / Associated Press)
At 29, the Argentinian lost nearly two years of his career to four surgeries on the ligaments, tendons and joints of his wrists, and recently he recovered his 4. His power and confidence restored, Del Potro takes a two-set lead over one on Nadal, which places him on the verge of reaching the Wimbledon semifinal and a win of a second Grand Slam that would have proved its US 2009 The open championship was not a fluke
But in a fifth set, the double Wimbledon champion, Andy Murray, qualified the best tennis game ever seen live, Nadal proved to be the most resilient and resourceful athlete. the moment, I feel sad, "said Del Potro, too tired to stand up straight, asked to describe his feelings by the first questioner in his post-match interview.
Maybe in time, the Argentina, he could appreciate the effort he had given and the good po he had played – points that allowed the 14,000 spectators of the Center to stand up .He had worked as hard as possible, had played his best tennis and was so close.But against Nadal, it was not enough.
"I think that Rafa, at the end, deserves to win again," said del Potro, patiently recounting the ebb and flow of the match, his thought process at each stage, he felt defeated, lying on the ground, when Nadal came to meet him.
"It was a kind of him," he said
in the case of Federer, Wednesday's quarter-final stakes were higher if possible. 6 years, the Swiss approaching the end of his career, even if his performance suggests otherwise. In view of his inevitable decline, he had skipped the clay season and had scheduled his training for Wimbledon's 2018 fortnight, which offered the best opportunity to raise his 20-man Grand Slam record to 20.
For Federer, self-recrimination following his loss of 2-6, 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-4, 13-11 to Anderson had to be deep. He had not managed to convert the match point into the third set and had come within two points of the win in the fifth set – a fifth set that lasted 90 minutes, longer than many whole matches.
[ A Wimbledon Appreciation for his Magic]
Federer had sailed through his previous matches in untouchable form – only to confront the fact, Wednesday, that he too could have less than sterling days. He acknowledged this over and over again in the post-match interviews that lasted nearly an hour
"Where did you feel you lost control over the match?", Asked the first journalist on an almost accusatory tone. moment. "Honestly, I'm not sure," he said.
"Is being assigned to play at Court One rather than at his customary lair on the Center played in his defeat? Be honest," said Federer. "J & # I had my chances and blew them up. That's my problem, really. "
And he went, providing expansive answers about what went wrong." He had struggled to anticipate that Anderson would serve.He had a hard time completing the points with the "1-" 2 punch "which is the mark of his own efficient services – hitting a service, then a winner of his opponent's return.Worse, nothing that he was trying to make seemed to shake Anderson.
After landing questions in English, Federer gave interviews in French, and then a third session in Swiss German. "The essential was the same, but it ensured that every journalist had history. [19659027] "It was just one of those days when you hope to arrive in one way or another," said Federer. "I would have almost been able to. I should have. "
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