So much for a knee injury. Juan Martin del Potro (8) advanced to the semifinals at 2013 Wimbledon after uncharacteristically breezing by the No. 4 seed David Ferrer in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4, 7(7)-6(5). Del Potro now awaits an opponent in the best of four as the Argentinian looks to claim a spot in the finals.
Del Potro battled through a nasty spill in the first set. A lot was made of his knee injury suffered in the fourth round. Almost immediately into the action, with the score 40-30 in his favor, Del Potro hyperextended his left knee and took some time to get up from the floor. However, after a couple of minutes of rest, Del Potro bounced back and played as though the fall had never taken place.
Del Potro did a great job breaking Ferrer in the first set and consistently held serve throughout the first and second sets. Ferrer put up a great battle in the second set. They both held serve until the ninth game when Del Potro broke the Spaniard and then held serve to win the set, taking a quick two-set lead.
The third set once again proved to be a back and forth battle between the two players. Ferrer, when serving as dominant, moving the ball from side to side, taking advantage of Del Potro's lack of mobility. Del Petro, when serving, took advantage of his length, using a powerful serve to get the shorter Ferrer off balance.
The match closed out in a tiebreak as both players once again held serve, incapable of breaking the other. Del Potro took a quick 4-1 lead, forcing Ferrer to play for his life. Ferrer resiprocated, winning three straight points. Del Potro won the ninth point to take a 5-4 lead, committed an unforced error with a long return. He took back his error by providing two memorable forehands as he was running to his right.
With the victory, Del Potro now sets the table to face Novak Djokovic in the Men's Singles Semifinals.
