Gatekeeper Federer Prevails in a Rope-a-Dope

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A tough Juan Martin del Potro succumbs in five sets to the Yokozuna, but climbs to Sekiwake, where he'll be joined by tournament sensation Robin Soderling

"Ozeki" means "big hurdle" in Japanese-- and one responsibility of a Yokozuna (=Grand Master) in ozumo is to make sure that not too many competitors jump that hurdle. Roger Federer has fulfilled this responsibility to perfection recently. At the 2008 US Open, he obstructed Andy Murray's promtion to Ozeki (=Champion), beating him in straight sets in the final. And now he has blocked the path of Argentine Komusubi (=Junior Champion II) Juan Martin del Potro (picture).

But del Potro put up a fabulous fight before he submitted to Federer's might. At times in the first three sets, del Potro controlled ball and opponent with his powerful serve and groundstrokes. It was only when he tired--some time in the fourth set--that the Dai-Yokozuna took over. And even then, Federer had to fight for every single point in the fifth set before closing out the match.

Federer has now reached his 19th grand slam final, equalling Ivan Lendl's record. But the record he's after is arguably to become the only sixth man in history to win all four slams. If the del Potro seminfinal is any yardstick, this Sunday's final may be Federer's last chance to do so. In this tournament, he has reminded this commentator of Muhammad Ali in the 1970s: once untouchable, Federer now gets pounded by his opponents--but once they have punched themselves out, Federer still wins on superior stamina and game smarts.

Federer's opponent this Sunday will be M8W Robin Soderling, who, in a seminfal of big forehand hitters, eliminated another elite opponent in M3E and former Sekiwake (=Junior Champion I) Fernando Gonzalez. Soderling was already 1-4 down in the final fith set, but found his composure just in time to wrestle the match out of the flashy Chilean's hands. With this win, Soderling has claimed to the scalp of the third former Sekiwake in this tournament (Ferrer, Dvydenko, Gonzalez), adding the final piece of evidence that his shock victory over Yokozuna Rafael Nadal was no fluke. And given how Soderling has played here, I would not write him off against Roger Federer either.

After this tournament, Soderling will move up all the way from Maegashira to Sekiwake, where he will join del Potro and Andy Murray (both promoted from Komusubi). Gonzalez reenters the sanyaku ranks as a Komusubi, a rank that the he will share with verteran and former Ozeki Andy Roddick (demoted from Sekiwake).