Stan Wawrinka was about 2 1/2 hours removed from winning the U.S. Open for his third major championship when he was presented with a question he probably was figuring would be coming.
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World number one Novak Djokovic has revealed that his nerves failed him at the most important moments during his shocking 6-7, 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 defeat to Stan Wawrinka in the 2016 US Open final. That one lasted about 4½ minutes.
Wawrinka trailed Djokovic 19-4 in their career head-to-head, but the hard-working Swiss saves his best for the big matches and he came through again with a superlative performance to win his 11th tour final in a row. Wawrinka then climbed into the crowd to hug his coach, Magnus Norman, and the rest of his team.
“In matches like this, if you don’t use the opportunities, the other guy comes and takes it”, said Djokovic, who won the Australian and French opens this year, his 11 and 12 major titles.
“I’m trying every day, day by day, practicing hard, trying every match to win”.
“I think I played quite a lot of tennis these two weeks, I am completely empty. The only plan is trying to push myself the maximum to be the best player I can”, Wawrinka said Sunday night. “There was so much emotion with the crowd, the atmosphere, the stadium, it’s been an wonderful night”.
“So what? Are you saying next year I focus only on Wimbledon? It’s been unbelievable night again”.
This was Wawrinka’s third Slam title; he won the 2014 Australian Open at 28 and the 2015 French Open at 30.
The Serbian, who needed treatment on his feet during his loss, said Wawrinka’s ability to take his chances was crucial. “In Grand Slams, you play every two days, five-set matches”.
Which is why they are putting him up with the other current greats, however Wawrinka is still humble when he is asked. The match gave Wawrinka the belief he could actually beat the world’s best. I’m not good enough to start and say, Okay, I’m going to win a Grand Slam this year. No. I’m so happy the way I’m playing. The win marks Wawrinka’s third grand slam.
“The toenails were off and bleeding”, Djokovic explained.
With that Djokovic threw his left arm around Wawrinka’s shoulders, knowing which was more up to the task on this day.
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. “I would definitely accept it”.
The 29-year-old also lamented his inability to stay focused in the big moments. He plans to finish his season in the fall, and fix his attention once more on closing the gap with Rafael Nadal, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer, the only men with more major titles than him, at the calendar’s turn. Djokovic had spent almost half the time spent by Wawrinka in the court during the tournament. Wawrinka, at the 2015 French Open when he also conceded the first set.
If he was deflated, Wawrinka got help from Djokovic in the fourth game of the second. Now he took a bite out of Djokovic in the Big Apple. Wawrinka complained about the 6-minute break, and Djokovic looked over and apologized. 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. Djokovic was broken to end the second and third sets, before suffering physically in the fourth.
This time was different, however, as Wawrinka brought too much to the table and stood erect for too long for Djokovic to regain his groove, surrendering his title to the Swiss. With Djokovic serving for the first 5-3, a minor shift in momentum took place.
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Djokovic then called for another medical timeout to have the toe treated and wrapped. “We played nearly four hours and we both felt it”.
