Stan Wawrinka overcame top-ranked Novak Djokovic in an intense US Open final to lift his third Grand Slam title at Flushing Meadows, New York.
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The 31-year-old Swiss led 6-7 (1) 6-4 7-5 in a big-hitting match of long tense rallies and brilliant shot-making.
Calling on that expertise, he broke for 3-1 in 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.
“At the beginning, for me, I never dreamed to win a Grand Slam until I won the Australian Open”, Wawrinka said.
The world number three had been match point down against Britain’s Dan Evans in the third round but he grew into the tournament and now stands one Wimbledon title away from completing a career grand slam. First I must say about Novak.
Wawrinka’s efforts were appreciated by hundreds of fans and some prominent individuals, including celebrities and former players, congratulated the Swiss player through social media.
Ultimately, this is just another chapter in the underrated rivalry between Djokovic and Wawrinka. After the match, Djokovic rued his “terrible” success rate on those critical break points.
The controversy arose because a medical timeout is supposed to be used for a serious injury, and it appeared that Djokovic was dealing with blisters on his toes. “We played nearly four hours and we both felt it”. Djokovic lost a major final for the ninth time in 21 matches.
Again the delay helped Djokovic as he returned to hold serve for 5-3, but Wawrinka maintained his nerve to serve out the match and claim his third grand slam title.
Wawrinka almost was gone before the end of the US Open’s first week, one point from losing in the third round against 64th-ranked Dan Evans.
Despite that, the 12-time grand-slam champion played down the impact and said his poor break-point conversion (three of 17 won) was costly.
After the final point – after Djokovic forced two deuces on Wawrinka’s final service game to add yet another thin layer of drama onto the proceedings – the two competitors embraced in a wonderful and honest gesture of sportsmanship. He stepped in and played aggressive, where I was kind of more waiting for things to happen.
And it was Stan Wawrinka, who does not possess either the name recognition or cachet of Big Four charter members Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray among the general US sporting populace, who stole the show.
Djokovic was drained as the fourth set wore on and called for a medical time out having fallen 3-1 down.
After Wawrinka moved ahead 5-2, Djokovic called for another time-out.
Then he seemed oddly subdued for long stretches Sunday during his four-set loss to Stan Wawrinka in the final of the US Open.
It’s a staggering 100% record in major finals, and in his last 11 finals in all tournaments, Wawrinka has won all 11. Wawrinka complained to the chair umpire his opponent should have been forced to wait until the change of ends after the fifth game, but Djokovic was allowed a six-minute break. “I think I played quite a lot of tennis these two weeks”.
Wawrinka now owns three of the four Grand Slam titles after beating Novak Djokovic at the US Open on Sunday. Wawrinka said nothing in reply, just gave a thumb’s up as in what else am I going to say?
“Stan, sorry man”, said Djokovic to Wawrinka. He has now won 11 tournament finals in a row.
Despite Djokovic’s physical issues, Wawrinka was a convincing champion.
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Djokovic dominated the tiebreaker 7-1 after some shaky moments earlier in the set. He went on to do it again in NY.
