J. DEL POTRO/J. Melzer
7 6, 6 3, 6 3


Q. Can you just describe the way you feel? How you played today?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Well, I feel a good sensation. I start lower, but then I finish playing hard, and much better with my serve. I feel the confidence in important moments. I think it's from my three matches since Washington I feel sometimes the confidence against players like Melzer or Monaco in the first round.
But I need to prove it a little bit for the next matches.

Q. You reached your first Grand Slam quarterfinal here last year, and since then you've reached quarterfinals or better in all but Wimbledon. Just talk a bit about the confidence level that you might have now when you go into Grand Slam play. Have you built your confidence up quite a bit?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Yes. This is my favorite Grand Slam. I love to play here. I have a good respective for this tournament. I want to be quiet with my matches, with my game, and then we will see.
I start to play better on hardcourt this season. When you keep winning, maybe it's tough because your physical, your mentally can be bad. But now I'm in good shape.

Q. And in the hardcourt summer season, you have had great success. What do you attribute that to?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Well, I like the surface, for sure. I beat Roddick, González, and they are very good players on this kind of surface. But if I want to be a good player in the future and to beat Murray, Federer, and Djokovic on this surface, I will try.

Q. Do you feel you have the game to do that now?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Well, it's very tough. Maybe you have the game, but I need the experience. I need time to be like them and to feel many, many times the semifinals in Grand Slam, the finals in Grand Slam, the crown, everything.


Q. You mentioned that you had a slow started today. Seemed like you missed a lot of first serves and the breakpoints that went by. Why was it such a bad start today?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: I don't know. I start I don't have a good start, but then I start to feel better with my weapons on the baseline. Then I improve my serve during the second set and the third set.
I finish playing much better than the first round, and is good for the future.

Q. Jurgen has a lot of different shots. How difficult is it to play someone like him? Kind of unpredictable?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Well, you never know what could happen with the ball. You always be prepared to go to the net or to go back, and it's very tough.
But if you play very good in important moments, you can win like today.

Q. The important moment it seemed like today was it in the second set, would you say, when you were down Love 40?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Yeah, in the tiebreak I was 3 1 down. I hit good shots. That's was the key for the match.

Q. Why is this your favorite Grand Slam? Why do you like this?
JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Why? Well, because I like the surface. I like the city. I like everything here, the crowd, the stadium not too big. I always dream with this moment. It's my favorite.


(via ASAP Sports, photo/Reuters Pictures)

US Open: Juan Martin del Potro's 04. September Interview