“He plays best in the big matches and definitely deserves to be mentioned in the mix of top players”, said Djokovic. “It was quite painful to move around”, he told reporters.
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“I had to put my [expletive] together”, he said, laughing, reporters snickering along with him. I feel better than him.
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic fell to Stan Wawrinka in the final of the 2016 U.S. Open Sunday, which ended what was an otherwise dominant season in somewhat disappointing fashion. But on break point, he went to retrieve a shot from Wawrinka on his backhand side and sailed the shot wide, giving Wawrinka a two-set-to-one lead. I think that’s what decided the match. Wawrinka swept the ninth game and on the next game even the match one set apiece when Djokovic hit a forehand wide right, later slamming his racket against his chair in disgust.
Although match took some serious turns when Novak called up the medical staff for twice during the timeouts and it was looking, this match will take another turn but Wawrinka holds his nerve till last and finally won it.
As the match wore on, Wawrinka proved stronger and appeared to have Djokovic on the ropes early in the fourth set, the Serbian breathing heavily after some rallies and clutching at his leg in discomfort after being broken to trail 0-2.
Overcoming the nerves Wawrinka’s confident performance was at odds with his pre-match nerves, when he broke down in tears while speaking to his coach Magnus Norman.
“I was working a lot on it and trying to find that rhythm, but my body has kind of compensated and made some different things to protect the problem I had with the arm”.
The Swiss was better on the most important points of the almost four-hour final that featured long rallies and brilliant shot-making from both players.
“Stan, sorry man”, said Djokovic to Wawrinka.
Wawrinka is used to chasing lost causes against Djokovic, coming back from losing the first set to win their 2014 Australian Open quarterfinal and again at Roland Garros previous year.
The No. 3 seeded Stan Wawrinka stunned the world by becoming the oldest man to claim the title in last 46 years.
Britain’s Murray has won 12, while Djokovic, Federer and Nadal are all in double figures for grand slam titles. “I decided like eight, nine days before the start of the Open just to try so to play finals, it’s quite unbelievable”. “The only plan is trying to push myself the maximum to be the best player I can”, Wawrinka said Sunday night.
“I love my sport”, Wawrinka says.
“It’s too far away to think about Wimbledon”, Wawrinka said.
“In the matches like this, if you don’t use the opportunities, the other guy comes and takes it and that’s what he did”.
Stanislas Wawrinka had turned pro in 2002 and started playing Grand Slams regularly in 2005 at the age of 20.
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Novak Djokovic came to NewYork with many doubts on his fitness with wrist injury, his form after Olympics and Wimbledon defeat was not good with also unspecified personal issues. But whether Wawrinka was losing, as he did the first set, or up significantly, as he was by the end, he betrayed very little as he played the No. 1 player in the world.
