Crowd egged me on, says del Potro

New York, September 5: Spurred on by noisy supporters after two days of illness, Juan Martin del Potro saved two match points to beat Dominic Thiem to reach the US Open quarterfinals.

The 28-year-old Argentine 24th seed rallied past Austrian sixth seed Thiem 1-6, 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (1), 6-4 in an emotional fightback.

"I played one of the epic matches of my career here in the US Open, which is my favorite tournament, in front of a great crowd," Del Potro said. "I was sick the last two days," Del Potro told the crowd.

"I came here trying to play the best I can and then when I see this crowd cheering for me, I was trying to play better every game. I think I fight like this because of you guys so thank you very much."

Del Potro admitted he was ready to quit when it seemed Thiem would win in a rout, but as his will faded, the crowd lifted him onward.

"I was thinking to retire in the middle of the second set because I couldn't breathe, I couldn't move well. Dominic was dominating the match so easy," he said.

"But then when we start the third set, I broke his serve very quick, and then I won the set in 20 minutes. I started to see the crowd. I took all the energy from the fans. That's what I did in the end, just keep fighting."

Del Potro won the last point with his final challenge, reversing a Thiem second serve call to out. "I was scared for that ball," he said. "But I got lucky, the ball was out, and I won."

Del Potro will next face 19-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer, whom he beat in a 2009 five-set final for his only Grand Slam title.

"I have the chance to play Roger again in this tournament, which is special for me," Del Potro said, adding, "I would like to have the trophy after these matches."