But for months the national hero — now fourth in the world rankings — has been a shadow of his former self. elterweight title to the 29-year-old on points Horn in a major upset in Brisbane on July 2. eat Nadal in the semis and Federer in the final to win his only grand slam title and cement a life-long love affair with the Big Apple. ”Standing between Del Potro and a return to the quarter-finals is sixth-seeded Austrian Dominic Thiem. All I can say is that the clue is in the pic itself. The team may have been overshadowed by local media reports of dissent within the ranks and speculation over their Bosnian coach’s future in the leadup to the Australia game. Dolgopolov has had an impressive run at Flushing Meadows, beating 15th seed Tomas Berdych and Serbia’s Viktor Troicki in previous rounds, but Nadal has a plan. I started as a left-winger at the beginning, and in all honestly, I am not a great admirer of that position for myself – I’m better as a ‘number 10’. Now I have the opportunity to compete again, to try to do it well. When playing in the centre I can control the game and generate chances.