Argentine sportsman Del Potro wins US Open Men's champion

Juan Martin del Potro collapsed and cried on the hard courts of the U.S. Open as he realized he was the new U.S. Open Men's champion.

Photo: Argentine sportsman Del Potro wins US Open Men's champion

Roger Federer sat in his sideline chair, listening to the music, gazing into the distance — the glassy-eyed look of a defeated man. Shocked. The owner of the most Grand Slam titles in history — maybe the best player of all time — finally lost at the U.S. Open, but not to Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick or even Andy Murray.

Rather, it was sixth-seeded Juan Martin del Potro, the 6-foot-6 Argentine with the big serve and the bigger forehand, who did the deed — a 3-6, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2 upset Monday in his first Grand Slam final.

"It's difficult to explain this moment," del Potro said, The Associated Press reports.

On "The Early Show" Tuesday, the 20-year-old Juan Martin del Potro said he played the match of his life Monday night, and everything was "perfect."

"My favorite tournament, my favorite stadium, the best ever in my career," he said.

The Open win was del Potro's first Grand Slam victory. Prior to this match, he played Federer six other times and never won, CBS News.

The match took four hours and six minutes, the longest U.S. Open final since Agassi beat Todd Martin in 1999. Del Potro has been on the verge of big things for the past year and a half, but seemed to be lacking in conditioning and mental toughness.

This time he brilliantly rode through the ups and downs of a major.

His near upset of Federer in Paris gave him a huge boost of confidence that he could pound his way to victory. He served huge when he needed to and spotted his first serve intelligently when he thought he needed to work himself into points. He became aware of how much the crowd was pulling for him and played to Argentines in attendance who serenaded him with cries of "Ole, Ole, DelPo," FOX Sport.