By Chris Oddo | Saturday October 14, 2017
The amazing year of Federer and Nadal continues.
Roger Federer pushed into the Shanghai final with a hard-fought 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Juan Martin del Potro on Saturday, setting up a 38th battle between Federer and archrival Rafael Nadal, their fourth meeting in 2017.
Federer earned his 350th Masters 1000 win and improved to 17-6 against Del Potro, avenging a difficult defeat to the Argentine that happened at the U.S. Open quarterfinals on September 6.
The Swiss improves to 43-4 on the season and 31-3 on hardcourts; He will bid for his 94th career title on Sunday and his fifth consecutive win over Nadal.
Federer had to battle past an inspired Del Potro on Saturday. The 29-year-old came into the match with serious doubts about the status of his left wrist after he suffered a scary fall during his quarterfinal win over Viktor Troicki. But a quick trip to the hospital for an MRI revealed no structural damage in the thrice surgically repaired wrist, leaving Del Potro fit and fierce from the onset.
He would save the only break point he faced in the first set then break for 4-2 as a Federer backhand sailed long. It was the first time that Federer dropped serve all week.
It was all Del Potro would need to take the opener but he was met with more resistance from Federer in the second.
Federer broke through on his fifth break point of a dramatic sixth game of the second set, clinching the 14-minute game when Del Potro made one of his 11 unforced errors on the day.
The Argentine was upset about crowd noised during and between points during the game, and he let the umpire know about it, which eventually prompted a Chinese PA announcer to take the court and quiet the fans in Chinese.
It may have silenced the crowd a bit but not Federer. The Swiss earned two set points on Del Potro’s serve later in the set, and he was unfazed when he did not convert.
He held at love to force a decider in the next game.
Federer broke for 2-1 in set three and again in the final game of the match to clinch his victory in one hour and 57 minutes.
The Swiss finished his crisp performance with 35 winners against 21 unforced errors. He did not face a break point in either the second or third sets.
Del Potro, playing in his first Masters 1000 semifinal since 2013, will reclaim a spot in the ATP’s Top 20 as a result of his performance. He has not been ranked that high since 2015.
He finished with 29 winners against 29 unforced.
Federer will face Nadal for the 38th time on Sunday. The pair have met three times this year with Federer winning tilts at the Australian Open, Indian Wells and Miami.
Nadal owns a 23-14 record in the rivalry, but Federer is currently enjoying a career-best four-match winning streak against his rival.