Fed beats Del Potro in Olympic classic

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Roger Federer is one win away from his first Olympic singles gold medal after a remarkable 3-6 7-6 (7/5) 19-17 triumph over Juan Martin Del Potro on Friday.

The match lasted four hours and 26 minutes, surpassing Rafael Nadal's victory over Novak Djokovic at the Madrid Masters in 2009 as the longest three-set men's singles match in the Open era.
The Swiss will now meet Andy Murray in the final, after the Briton defeated Djokovic 7-5 7-5 later on in the evening.
Federer, who won gold in the men's doubles with Stanislas Wawrinka in 2008, is now guaranteed at least a silver medal, while Del Potro must recover to battle for bronze on Sunday after leaving Centre Court in tears.
Del Potro's record on grass is not particularly impressive, while he had faced Federer five times already this season and lost all of them.
The eighth seed had snuck through the draw rather unnoticed but was immediately on form in the first set. Federer was a bit error-prone, and he paid the price as Del Potro broke for 5-3 and then served it out.
The second was a very tense affair, with break points for both men, but it was Del Potro who was looking the more dangerous as he pushed Federer back with his thunderous forehand.
But the world number one hung on, showing the cool temperament that has helped him to 17 grand slam titles, and in the tie-break it was Del Potro who cracked.
Federer saved two break points at the start of the decider but from there it was he who began to threaten more.
Del Potro would not yield though, finding big serves and even bigger groundstrokes when he needed them most.
On and on they went, the Argentinian saving a break point at 7-7 and then picking up a sore hip with a full-length diving volley to hold on in the 17th game.
But Del Potro was finding it harder and harder to withstand the pressure and he finally cracked at 9-9, shanking a forehand to leave Federer serving for the match.
That looked to be that, but surprisingly Federer could not take his opportunity and was promptly broken back to love.
His next chance came at 14-14 when Del Potro slipped to 0-40, but all three chances came and went as the clock ticked towards four hours and then past it.
Federer had a few sticky moments of his own but prevented Del Potro creating a match point, and in the 35th game he finally broke through again to lead 18-17.
An exhausted Del Potro buried his face in his shirt, and this time it was the crucial blow, although there was still time for Federer to miss a simple volley on his first match point before clinching it when his opponent netted a backhand.
Federer was a relieved man as he kept his golden hopes alive and secured Switzerland's first medal of the Olympics.
The 30-year-old said: "It was a big match, obviously. It was very tough from start to finish. Juan Martin did so well to hang in there.
"I got lucky in the second set to get back and then in the third it was so tough. I don't think I have ever played as long a set in a best of three-set match, so it was very physical at the end and so mental. Obviously I feel bad and horrible for Juan Martin but he can be very proud."
Federer was particularly happy with the way he managed to hold his nerve despite serving to stay in the match 12 times.
He said: "I was calm. I was good throughout. But obviously serving against the match so many times, it's hard and it takes its toll, and I maybe could have been out of the match earlier as a winner but also as a loser.
"So I thought I was fortunate to stay in there. I liked my attitude today [Friday], so I am very happy."
As if things were not tough enough for Del Potro, he had only a short break before heading out to Court Two for his mixed doubles quarter-final with Gisela Dulko.
He said: "It is tough to speak now, I feel sad, but Roger played a fantastic match, he is a good winner. When you lose you can't see the good things.
"It's not an easy situation, someone always has to win these matches and today [Friday] it was him. In other big matches it has been my turn, such as the US Open (in 2009 when he beat Federer in the final), but this time it was his."