Greg Garber joined ESPN in 1991 and provides reports for NFL Countdown and SportsCenter.
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And Wawrinka’s late-career success is his reward for years of perseverance.
“He’s very entertaining to watch”, said Djokovic, who will play either Swiss third seed Stan Wawrinka in Sunday’s final. “That’s what I’m trying to do”, Wawrinka said.
Monfils defended this tactic, saying: “I’m just embracing the fact the guy is too good for me, and I try to switch strategy”.
Stan Wawrinka, of Switzerland, reacts after winning the second set against Kei Nishikori, of Japan, during the semifinals of the U.S. Open tennis tournament, Friday, Sept. 9, 2016, in NY.
“We’ve had many big memories together, especially in grand slams, so it’s going to be an exciting match”, said Wawrinka, who is playing his first USA final and beat Djokovic on the way to his slam titles at the 2014 Australian Open and 2015 French.
The change in conditions seemed to favor Nishikori, who’s won five of his 11 career titles on indoor hard courts.
However, the big Swiss has won his last 10 finals and will draw on those as well as his Slam record with Djokovic for inspiration.
Djokovic will now attempt to win his third US Open and 13th Grand Slam title on Sunday. It was a tough battle physically, and I knew if I’m make him exhausted he’s not going to be as fast or aggressive as he was at the beginning. The world No 3 has the most powerful single-handed backhand in tennis, which makes for a formidable combination alongside his thunderous forehand, an excellent big-match temperament and the stamina to outlast opponents. “I’m sorry if you think I’m unprofessional”.
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the US Open final 2016 between Stanislas Wawrinka and Novak Djokovic, covering all the build-up and the match itself from Flushing Meadow.
“He also started to get exhausted a little bit and that’s when I started to get my game, to be aggressive”.
“Definitely I try to get in his head, try to create something new for him”, explained Monfils.
It is Djokovic’s 21st Grand Slam final in all, second in the history of men’s tennis only to Roger Federer’s 28.
In the semi-final, two-time champion Djokovic raced to a 5-0 lead in the first set, but the 10th-seeded Monfils won three straight games and had a break point to get back on serve by giving the Serb a steady diet of slow slices and then counter-punching effectively when the Serbian tried to attack the net.
Wawrinka saved four break points in the seventh game of the second set to stay on serve at 4-3 and saved two more in the ninth game before levelling the match.
Wawrinka, who needed to save a match point against Dan Evans in the third round, has slowly rounded into form.
Stan Wawrinka, of Switzerland, returns a shot to Kei Nishikori, of Japan, during the semifinals of the U.S. Open tennis tournament, Friday, Sept. 9, 2016, in NY. “But. when you play Novak, even playing your best tennis, you can also lose”.
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Aesthetically, this is a pleasing matchup.
