“I think that’s what decided the match”, said Djokovic, the No. 1 seed and defending champion. “He was tougher mentally”, said Djokovic, offering two of the highest compliments a tennis player can receive from the talented Serb ranked No. 1.
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All three of his grand slam wins have come against the No1 of the time, while he is unbeaten in 11 finals. I had to bring everything I had today against Novak. “Just look at the tournaments they won, how many years they have been there”.
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.
After considering skipping the U.S. Open because of injury concerns, Novak Djokovic made it all the way to the final for the sixth time in the past seven years. “Hopefully I can get better, because that’s the cycle of life, I guess, for us athletes”. They have been in all semi-finals of grand slams, all finals, all semi-finals of Masters 1000, all finals.
Novak Djokovic of Serbia reacts during the men’s singles final match against Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland at the 2016 U.S. Open in NY, the United States, Sept. 11, 2016.
With Djokovic’s legs no longer carrying the same spring, Wawrinka took the first three games of the fourth set.
“I lost my nerve in the important moments”.
Early in what would become a tight test of a U.S. Open final, Angelique Kerber sprinted forward to somehow reach a drop shot and scoop a down-the-line victor to a corner.
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. When he gets to a championship match, the Swiss is money in the bank, winning his last 11 finals.
Calling on that expertise, he broke for 3-1in the second set, recovered from handing the advantage back in the seventh to level the final when Djokovic unleashed a wild forehand on set point in the 10th. And though no one’s saying Djokovic is going anywhere (though Federer doesn’t win majors these days, he’s still one of the three best players in the world when healthy), having 13 Slams and need four to tie The Fed suddenly looks a lot more daunting.
Although he appeared hurt, Djokovic’s use of the medical timeout to reset himself for a stronger comeback is likely to be scrutinized in the aftermath of the last Grand Slam of the season.
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. “He’s a very complete player”.
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The world number one, who benefited from a walkover and two retirements on his way to the final, called for the trainer twice, and struggled to keep pace with the superlative tennis from the Swiss third seed.
