Forget Wimbledon or the French Open, Juan Martin del Potro wants to win the US Open more than any other tournament in the world.
"My dream is to win this tournament," the soft-spoken Argentine said after stopping Marin Cilic 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 on Thursday to reach the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows.
"I'm so close to do it."
Del Potro will meet with third seeded Rafael Nadal or number 11 Fernando Gonzalez of Chile with a spot in the final at stake.
With a 15-1 record since Wimbledon, the sixth-ranked Del Potro is on a hot streak. He admits to being comfortable with the sights and sounds of the Big Apple.
When asked what he liked about New York and the Open, he did not hesitate.
"Everything. The stadium, the crowds, the people, the city. Everything. It's so lovely," he said. "I like to play here in U.S., and I like hardcourts. I like this tournament.
"It's my favourite surface, the biggest stadium than other (Grand Slams). Many Argentines come here to see the match, so for me, it's the best one."
Del Potro opened his match against Cilic miserably, losing the first set and trailing 3-1 in the second. But he turned it around spectacularly, winning 17 of the final 20 games.
"It was a good comeback," said Del Potro. "The crowd cheering for me at 1-3 in the second. I start to play better after that moment. I enjoyed the match and I did good things."
Del Potro and Cilic look alike and play alike. Both are 20 years old and at 6-foot-6 (1.98 metres) look more like they play basketball than tennis. They move well and have big strokes.
DICTATING PLAY
Cilic opened the match by hitting the lines, dictating the pace, and letting Del Potro spray the ball wide. But as quickly as a snap of the fingers, their roles reversed.
"Definitely he started to play much better and not giving me so many chances to dictate the game," the Croat said. "He was not missing and also putting a lot of pressure on me.
"Then it was tough for me to hold that level of game."
The winds kicked up on a chilly day at Arthur Ashe Stadium and Cilic admitted he had trouble with the volatile conditions.
"At the beginning of the match I was playing really good and moving him a lot around," he said. "I found after the first set that it got a lot cooler and the court was a little bit hard to play on.
"The ball wasn't going through the court as much as it was in the beginning. Then he was on top of me all the time and not letting me to find any other solution to get back."
