Pointing to his temple after winning the biggest of points, Stan Wawrinka wore Novak Djokovic down and beat the defending champion 6-7 (1), 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 on Sunday for his first U.S. Open title and third Grand Slam trophy overall.
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Djokovic, who was denied a 13th grand slam title, was by contrast unusually wasteful, with his 14 squandered break points ultimately decisive.
Wawrinka, the 31-year-old third seed, triumphed 6-7 (1/7), 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 after nearly four hours of high intensity tennis.
The Swiss 31-year-old now has as many grand slams as Murray and is just a Wimbledon title shy of a career grand slam, yet he believes talk of a Big Five remains premature.
Djokovic, blighted by physical problems throughout the US Open, was not at his brilliant best in Arthur Ashe Stadium but he was also blown away by a powerful Wawrinka display.
An emotional Wawrinka said after the match that he put everything into the tournament. Djokovic was broken to end the second and third sets, before suffering physically in the fourth.
“I don’t want to lose the final in a Grand Slam, that simple”.
A year ago, on the cusp of a rare calendar-year grand slam, Williams was felled by 300-to-1 longshot Roberta Vinci.
Wawrinka now has three Grand Slam titles to his name, having beaten Djokovic in the French Open final previous year and winning the Australian Open in 2014.
Asked what he had felt on waking up the morning after his 6-7, 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 victory, Wawrinka said: “That I was exhausted”. But when it comes to toppling Novak Djokovic lately at grand slams – the leading member, on current form, of the illustrious quartet that also includes Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray – Wawrinka has no equal.
“I never had a goal to win a Grand Slam but I am trying as best I can”.
Consider this: Djokovic had been 51-0 in U.S. Open matches, and 53-2 in all finals, when taking the first set. Maybe her loss is gaining more attention because she rarely loses, or because the victor, Angelique Kerber, won her second major of the year. I was completely shaking.
SERENA WILLIAMS: There was a lot of speculation about whether there is a changing of the guard in women’s tennis, now that Serena Williams’ record-tying 186-week streak at No. 1 is over after a semifinal loss to Karolina Pliskova. “Because of you I am the player I am today”.
Wawrinka said Monday he stepped on court the evening earlier knowing he could beat Djokovic and assured his coach, Magnus Norman, as much.
The big four stay the big four, like that.
The world No.3, who won in Melbourne in 2014 before the French Open previous year, has now come out on top in the last 11 finals he’s featured in.
“I really didn’t know whether or not I’m going to come, to be honest”, he said. That continued a pattern that carried throughout: Djokovic, as good a returner as there is in the game – now, certainly, and perhaps ever – managed to convert only 3 of 17 break chances.
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For Djokovic, the priority will be to shake off various ailments he took treatment for at Flushing Meadows, including injuries to his left wrist and right elbow.
