This was a brilliant performance from Simon. I only managed to watch the second set, where just a couple of point separated the two. So glad that Simon managed to win this, hope he has the energy to keep going, he's played 13 sets in 3 rounds!

What is wrong with DelPotro 80 unforced errors. And he did not even look like he was down or disapointed. If this is his mindset ten he will never return to the top of the rankings. WIth all respect to Simon he should not be able to beat DelPotro.

Oh no!

This was a feel good win for me. I love watching someone like Simon play. So nice to see a guy who can construct a point intelligently and use movement and quickness and counterpunch well. I was quite surprised to see how fit Simon was out there in the tough humid conditions. He held up much better than Delpo.

It's such a contrast of style when these two play and Simon has the game to blunt Delpo's power with his speed and running down every ball and just getting it back over the net. He wore down Delpo by getting him into long rallies.

I thought the true test for Simon was at 4-5 and down 0-40 on his serve. Delpo had three set points to even up the match at two sets all and send it into a fifth set. But Simon got aggressive, went for his shots, hit some great serves and just handled the pressure beautifully. He managed to hold his serve and even it at 5-all. You could see Delpo just getting more and more tired and trying to hang on.

Simon had the answers in the end. A well deserved victory from a player who is such a pleasure to watch.

My God yea s0-40 and he threw them away! Simon did not have to do anything to get that game all easy mistakes by DelPotro. He has serious issues. Fitnesswise or mentalwise.

Sienna go get that deranged head of your checked! See if some minute amount of commonsense can be injected into it.

Don't all jump on me at once but I don't think Delpo is all that good. He had a lucky break in 2009 when he won the USO but before that he had achieved very little. I grant him the big serve, his big forehand as all it is - big but not very interesting and not always on target.

Yes he is a threat if the top players are not on their game but he is not in the top 4 league, more or less in the Sod/Berdych bracket.

Delpo is not back to his best yet, definitely not back to his 2009 level. To me both Delpo and Simon are not as good as their previous best level, however the Simon now is able to absorb the blows inflicted by this Delpo. Simon simply moves better than Delpo and can anticipate well Delpo's moves and is able to vary his pace to absorb all the bombs Delpo throws at him. It's so marvellous, watching how Simon neutralize Delpo's big hitting forehands and Delpo simply runs out of ideas how to deal with Simon.

I agree, Delpo is not yet a top four material, unless say, Fed retires. Delpo still has to contend with Tsonga and Berdych, for the top four spot if that happens. Not forgetting a healthy Sod and a up and coming Cilic too.

nadline - you were no doubt expecting this so here goes. delpo's 2009 slam win was no flashin the pan, in fact it was some time coming. muzz fans recall how it took our guy to end delpo's 23 match winning streak in 2008 and such was his progress since then that I for one had been quietly fearing that he would lift a slam before muzz.

To have had a winning streak end by muzz puts you in a select band of players such as nole this year and fed in 2005 (remember that 55-match North American streak ended by 18 year-old muzz, in what was supposed to have been another flash in the pan).
What is surprising to me is that it is taking so long for delpo to get back to the top given the rapidity of his rise in 2008-09. It just shows how badly that injury set him back. I for one am just waiting for another surge, but probably to top 2 rather than top 4. not that we muzz fans are in any rush for it;)

PS. despite the rankings, I also feel slight relief that it's simon rather than delpo who should now emerge from that 1/8th of the draw, not that simon will be easy for muzz (assuming he gets past young this time).

alex, I'm yet to be convinced.

I'm with nadline on this one. His height and reach give him a terrific advantage. If he were Hewitt's height, let's see how good he is. Davydenko beating him at WTF is a gr8 memory.

Funny, the general consensus on heights seems to be that the optimum height for a tennis player is 6'2-6'3 and anything beyond that starts to become a DISadvantage, what's gained in serving and aerial power is more than lost through lack of agility and general dexterity around the court. But delpo breaks the rule - the thing that imprsses me most about him is that, for such a big court, he has a lovely delicate touch around the net - e.g. last night against simon I saw simon miss one or two drop volleys and I just knew delpo would have nailed. so, i suppose we just differ on delpo ...

Delpo is a top4 material and i have no doubt in that ..lets see at what rankings he reaches this year

no offense to Simon, because I really do like him, but DelPo errored his way out of that match. 72 unforced errors is outrageous.

Delpo does improve his net game; he S&V quite a bit at Wimbledon this year. Delpo is still lumbering around the court, that's why he has to learn to S&V, take the initiative to move up to the net as much as possible, if not he would be drop shot to death by his opponents staying at the baseline. I refer to his R3 match against Nole at RG this year, he did get to some of the drop shots that Nole threw at him, but that was because he anticipated them and made his move to the net quick enough. However, once it's not an expected one, he failed to reach it on time, this is something he'll never be as good as the top four. Among the giants, Cilic has the best movement around the court, he is so light footed and moves swiftly, hardly any lumbering involved. To me, Cilic has a better net game than Delpo.

"I'm with nadline on this one. His height and reach give him a terrific advantage. If he were Hewitt's height, let's see how good he is."

Haaha, what a joke of a comment. Delpos height is not an advantage, it puts him at a DISADVANTAGE due to mobility issues.(just like shorter players like ferrer have a disadvangte in the power department) The optimum height for a tennis player is around 6'1-6'3(most all time greats are around that height) If del potro was a few inches shorter, he would actually be a far tougher opponent to beat.

If Delpo was a few inches shorter he would not have the advantage of his serve without which his game is not all that big, because he doesn't have a variety of shots. He whacks his forehand hard but that's all. Cilic and Ljubicic have far better movement than Delpo around the court.

Despite Delpo's huge number of UE's in that match, I still give credit to Simon for pushing him by retrieving balls and wearing him down in long rallies. Delpo does not seem to have gotten to a level of fitness where he can go deep in slams. He did not look very good in the hard court warmup tournaments leading up to the USO. It could be that the hip injury he suffered during the clay season and then aggravated at Wimbledon, might have set him back.

I am one who thinks that Delpo is not the impenetrable player that some have made him out to be. I give him full credit for his great win in the final at the 2009 USO against Fed. After that people had extremely high expectations for him. We will never know what might have happened had he not suffered that serious wrist injury and lost a year of his career.

When Delpo is healthy and fit, he can move quite well for a big guy. He showed some of that at Wimbledon. I just don't seem him as the invincible guy who can take out all comers.

This is not the first time Simon has been a tough opponent for Delpo. They have had these kinds of long matches before. This time Simon got the better of him. I don't think Delpo was totally physically fit and ready for this battle, but there is no questioning Simon's great speed and movement and his retrieving skills. He kept that ball in play enough to prevent Delpo from having quick short points. That's what he needed to do.

I think if Cilic can really get himself back into good form again, which he seems to be working towards right now, he certainly could be very dangerous. He does have the ability to move very well on the court even with his height.

Now simon is up against an even taller player is isner who also has the advantage of a unfairly big serve

Actually, it's the shorter players that have more of an advantage in movement. The very tall guys get injuired a lot and they can't move very well. The only advantage they have is their serve. Karlovic is a good example, and it's why he's ranked so low. Raonic got injured after playing so much, and is now off the tour for several months.

Yup, Safin and Krajicek were too frustrating examples of perenially injured big guys who had scores of talent.

I don't think Raonic is injured because he's tall. There are loads of players that could hardly be described as very tall who get injured all the time like Tsonga and Monfils. Nalby is not tall nor is Hewitt and they top the list of the long term injured as well as Gonzo, Blake and a host of other players.

What makes it unfair is that extremely tall players can win easy point after point by just one stroke whereas normal height players have to earn their points in rallies which is not so easy.

Would Delpotro have that serve and that forehand if he were not 6'6". I think not. Also his wingspan, which is huge, more than makes up for any lack of movement.

true nadal is as tall as federer and injured all the time.

To be fair to Rafa, he has a chronic foot problem, he has a deformed bone on his left foot. I believe that foot has given him plenty of problems, and I think his knee problems might be related to his foot problem, having to compromise his movements because of his foot. Just imagine without his foot problem, how many more important titles Rafa can win?

He may have foot problems but he has retired for reasons more than just foot problems ,Just imagine if federer had a stronger backhand or if Djokovic peaked earlier or if Murray was mentally much stronger..then how much less slams nadal would have won.

As usual your love for "the boy" clouds ur judgement

true nadal is as tall as federer and injured all the time.

nirv02 , 9/6/11 11:33 AM

Well, maybe, Roger is a bionic man he just has parts replaced whenthey wear out, Rafa is human.

As usual, nirv, your hatred for Rafa has clouded your judgement or reasoning! Is Fed's backhand problem a chronic problem? Is Nole's peaking late due to a chronic problem? Is Murray's mental issue due to chronic problems?

Just be happy that Fed had gotten his FO and his 6th Wimbledon while Rafa was having his injury problems and family issues. I don't need anyone to tell me who would win the channel slams in 2009 if Rafa is fit and healthy.

lucky, Andy has a chronic problem as well....and not his head either...;)

I am not pointing to chronic problems but to your stupid argument about if someone did not have something they would have done such and such. By that logic if I was Obama I would have been the president of US! So dont makeup foolish scenarios about Rafa winning more grandslams if his foot was alright!.

I know deuce, it's his knee, but he's being held back not by his knee by by his head. Nole also has ashma but in 2008, his best year other than his 2011, his skills wasn't good enough to challenge Fedal. In 2009-2010, he was affected by his change of rackets and coach, if not at least he could challenge Fed then when Rafa was away injured. All these may be preventable as they are not chronic, whilst Rafa's foot problem is chronic. Unless he stops playing tennis totally, he'll always be affected by this foot issue. His injuries are mostly related to his legs- foot, ankle, knee, thigh- and retirements are mainly due to such; only once or twice he retired due to his shoulder - at Queen's club one year and at Cincy in 2007.

Excuse me nirv, you're the one who pointed out that if Fed does not have his backhand problem, if Nole does not have his....problems. Not me! So there goes your Obama and your reasoning!

I'm pointing to chronic problems, that can't be prevented. Rafa was held back by his foot problems, missing some tournaments. I'm sure he can do better than now has he not had his foot issue. Simple as that and you have to argue until you turn blue!

It is of interest to note that all of the players that make the short-list of "best of their generation" are around 6 feet tall. Too much height hampers movement and not enough means limited reach and a disadvantage serving.

Roger, Rafa, Nole, Sampras, Agassi, Connors, McEnroe and Borg all fit this profile. The exception is Laver who is listed as 5 feet 8 inches tall, which is quite short.

cheryl, weren't they all shorter in Laver's day anyway and statistically aren't we all getting taller? Is Isner the tallest person ever, to play the game? And look at the women, I suspect they are giants compared to the past.

Laver was simply phenomenal. They didn't call him "the rocket" for nothing. He had that powerful, unbelievable lefty forehand and was a superb serve and volley player. He had speed and power and really was unlike anyone else. I remember his big left and and how well he generated power.

Laver was a great enough athlete to be able to more than compensate for being relatively short. It was part of so many things that made him great.

Sorry, typo in my last post. I meant to say that I remember Laver's big left arm. I was totally in awe of him when I watched tennis when I was very young.