Wawrinka has now won all three Grand Slam finals he has played and his last 11 finals in a row, while on Sunday he became the oldest victor at Flushing Meadows since 35-year-old Ken Rosewall in 1970.
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NEW YORK, Sept 11 Third seed Stan Warwinka won the third set from top-seeded defending champion Novak Djokovic 7-5 to move within one set of victory in the U.S. Open men’s final on Sunday.
Most glaring of all during a 6-7 (1), 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 loss to Stan Wawrinka on Sunday was this statistic: Djokovic, one of the greatest returners of his, or any, generation, converted only 3 of 17 break chances.
BBC reports Wawrinka, 31 years old, has become the oldest victor at Flushing Meadows Ken Rosewall won in 1970 at 35. He will arrive next year without thoughts of winning the title, just as he did here and just as he did in Australia in 2014 as a 28-year-old pup.
Wawrinka has now claimed his 3rd Grand Slam, following his Australian and French Open victories.
On both those occasions, Djokovic had been the fall-guy, losing in Melbourne in the quarter-finals and also finished as the runner-up in Paris. “I’m completely empty. I had to bring everything I had today against Novak”.
“I really didn’t know whether or not I’m going to come, to be honest”, Djokovic said, saying he made the decision to play in NY just days before the tournament. I never had a goal to win a Grand Slam but I am trying as best I can.
But Djokovic acknowledged that he became too passive at pivotal segments of the match against No. 3 Wawrinka, who collected the third major trophy of his career and first at Flushing Meadows. “Stan, you absolutely deserved to win”.
” You were more courageous player in the decisive moment and he deserves his title”, said Djokovic. “We know each other (for) many, many years, and I had the chance to practice many times with him and to play him on a big stage”.
Certainly Wawrinka gets Djokovic’s vote for inclusion, having taken two of his three titles at the Serb’s expense. He entered Sunday having spent nearly exactly twice as much time on court during the tournament – about 18 hours vs. about 9 hours – as Djokovic, who benefited from injuries to three opponents that withdrew before or during matches.
Stan Wawrinka is one set from winning the U.S. Open against top-ranked Novak Djokovic.
Since 2005, when Rafa Nadal won his first French Open crown, the Spaniard, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray have formed their own elite club, sweeping all but five of the grand slam titles.
After a shaky start to the match, Wawrinka started to find his form late in the first set, and that continued in the second.
Frustrated, Djokovic demolished his racquet, collecting a code violation from umpire Ali Nili.
“Terrible conversion of the break points”, Djokovic said.
In the second game of the fourth set, Djokovic began grimacing in pain during his service game and hobbling between points.
Yet another shift in momentum followed as the Swiss, his trademark backhand looking increasingly risky, moved 3-1 up in the second set and overcame a brief lapse to consolidate his lead.
Wawrinka, of all people, stands one Wimbledon from being the fifth. He appeared to start cramping in the fourth set as he quickly slipped 0-3 down. He withstood with aplomb Djokovic’s six-minute medical timeout for bleeding toenails midway through the fourth set – and in a non-changeover, no less, as Wawrinka prepared to serve at 3-1.
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The break lasted more than six minutes, and the USA television broadcasters pointed out that medical breaks are supposed to be taken during changeovers, or between sets, unless there is an acute condition that requires immediate treatment.
