Magnificant!

It’s hard not to be happy for Argentine tennis star Juan Martin del Potro even if his victory in the finals of the US Open today came at the expense of my favorite player Roger Federer.

Roger was in such good form in his semifinal yesterday that I thought he would win fairly easily. So I went to The Abbey to have lunch and figure I’d get a beer and watch the match there. More than four hours later, I was still there along with a growing group of people living and dying on every point.

Everyone in the room was rooting for Federer, already the winner of five straight US Opens, 15 grand slam titles overall and this year’s Wimbledon and French Open champion. I can’t remember there ever being a dominant number one player who is so popular despite winning all the time. I think it’s his elegance, his sportsmanship and determination to win every big tournament he enters.

But Del Potro has had a remarkable victory with this win. He became the first player to ever beat both Federer and Rafael Nadal in the same grand slam tournament. He is also only the second other man to break the stranglehold Federer and Nadal have had on the Big Four majors. Since the 2005 French Open, 2008 Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic had been the only person other than those two to win a slam – until today.

At 20, Del Potro has it all in front of him. His good looks and amazing abilities are great for the game since Federer and Nadal will not last forever.

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