Del Potro stuns Roger Federer to win US Open

Roger Federer has finally been dethroned as the king of Flushing Meadows after an extraordinary US Open final saw Argentinian Juan Martin del Potro beat the Swiss legend in five sets to claim his first grand slam.

Del Potro joins Spaniard Rafael Nadal as the only player to defeat Federer in a grand slam final, but he had to come from a set down twice to take the match 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 after four hours and six minutes. The Argentinian had previously taken Federer to five sets in the French Open semi-finals this year, but few predicted what would take place last night.

When del Potro first came out for the delayed men's final, he had seemed totally overawed by the occasion, and Federer, who held a 6-0 winning record over his young opponent, had swept to the first set, and threatened to overwhelm del Potro when the 20-year-old double-faulted in the first game of the second set.

But del Potro held on, and broke the Swiss player in the tenth game when a Federer hold would have given him a two-set lead. He held on for that set, but lost the next - but not before the five-time US Open champion had exploded on court at the umpire, telling him "I don’t give a shit what [del Potro] said. Don't fucking tell me the rules" after the Argentinian had taken a long time to challenge a call.

Federer took a one-set lead again after that incident, but lost another tie break in the fourth to set up the deciding final set. Del Potro then stunned the 23,000 watching spectators at the Arthur Ashe stadium, and the wider tennis world by ending Federer's 40-match unbeaten run at the championships, stomping his opponent in just eight games to take the US Open crown. ·