Argentina’s Juan Martin Del Potro reached his first career Wimbledon quarterfinal after beating 23rd seed Andreas Seppi of Italy 6-4, 7-6, 6-3 at the All England Club on Monday. This means that Del Potro has reached quarterfinals or better in all four Grand Slams. He won his lone Slam title at the US Open in 2009.
“I played really well, but in the end I was so nervous I couldn’t close the match out easily,” Del Potro revealed. “In the third set, I missed easy forehands because of nerves. I think I played really well the last two points of the match.”
There were some questions about Del Potro’s fitness after he injured his knee during his third round victory over Slovenian Grega Zemlja but he said that he’s doing fine.
“The ankle is good and the knee is not good. But I’m allowed to play. It still bothers me in the left outside of the knee. But the doctor says it’s nothing too dangerous, and that’s positive.
“I couldn’t extend the knee 100 per cent. And the tapes for today helped me to be careful in some movements. But it is not enough. I have one day and a half until my next match, and I will do all the treatments to see if I can be better.”
Del Potro will face Spain’s David Ferrer in the quarterfinals. He trails 2-6 in their head to head series including a loss to Ferrer in last year’s fourth round match at Wimbledon.
“I’m so happy to be in the quarter-finals for the first time here in Wimbledon. I’m improving playing on grass; I like it a lot,” del Potro said. “It’s going to be difficult against Ferrer, but I’m very excited to play him. He’s playing fantastic this season; he will be No. 3 in the world. I think he’s the favourite, but I like to play this match on the grass. If my knee is OK, I think it will be a good match.”
