Stan Wawrinka stunned the tennis-watching world on Sunday when he took down world No. 1 Novak Djokovic 6-7 (1), 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 in the US Open men’s final at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
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Stanislas Wawrinka, who has “Stan the Man” as his moniker is now surely the man because in winning all the Grand Slam finals he has qualified for he has had to beat the No.1 on the three occasions – Rafael Nadal for the 2014 Australian Open; Djokovic in the 2015 French Open and again Djokovic in NY.
His steely resolve was on full display as he maintained his composure throughout the encounter, eventually triumphing on his second match point.It was the 31-year-old Swiss’ third Grand Slam title in as many major final appearances, after he won the Australian Open in 2014 and the French Open in 2015, reports Xinhua.
“Five minutes before the match I was talking over the last few things with Magnus and I started to cry.
I’m completely empty”, Wawrinka said after the match. Physically I was there. My game was there.
In the men’s final of the U.S. Open, world number one Novak Djokovic faced Stan Wawrinka for the title.
There was no mystery to what drove him through almost 18 punishing hours on court to reach the final – plus four more on Sunday – it’s the same engine that drives him at an age when many are thinking of winding down their careers.
The world number three was match-point down to Britain’s Dan Evans in round three at Flushing Meadows, before fighting his way back to victory.
He had to rally against former US Open finalist Kei Nishikori in the semi-finals, and escaped resurgent former champion Juan Martin del Potro in a quarter-final four-setter.
Wawrinka now has three Grand Slam titles to his name having also won the Australian Open and French Open. Just the heat of the moment and importance of the match, I guess, was too strong for me at certain periods of the match.
After a forehand passing shot drew an errant volley for a break early in the third set, Wawrinka pointed to his temple. He might never win Wimbledon to complete a set of all four majors but he has already done enough to be considered alongside the best of his generation – whatever he thinks to the contrary. “Just look at the tournaments they won, how many years they have been there”, said Wawrinka, whose win in NY earned him $3.5m (£2.6m) – the game’s biggest payday.
Wawrinka says that’s a big reason he won’t put himself in the same class as the others. With three grand slam titles, Wawrinka has been able to break the dominance of Big Four, comprising the quartet of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer Andy Murray and the Serb, who have shared 46 major titles among them. It was just the toenails were off and bleeding (during the final).
Consider this: Djokovic had been 51-0 in U.S. Open matches, and 53-2 in all finals, when taking the first set.
“But then, then, then. I’m very proud of it, so this loss today can not overshadow the great moments I have had in Australia and especially in Paris”, he said.
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In reaching the US Open final, Wawrinka spent nearly nine hours longer on court than Djokovic, a beneficiary of three retirements during the event in NY.
