Wawrinka took the final three sets to earn a 6-7 (1), 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 win.
Advertisement
Wawrinka continued to pile the pressure on Djokovic and raced into an early 3-0 lead in the third to sound the warning bells of an upset.
On both those occasions, Djokovic had been the fall guy, losing in Melbourne in the quarterfinals and ending as runner-up in Paris.
“Five minutes before the match I was talking over the last few things with Magnus and I started to cry”.
Were fitness issues to blame for Djokovic’s defeat? But converting only three of the 17 breakpoints he had, did not help his cause. “You are a great champion and deserved to win this title”. “You were the more courageous player in the decisive moment and you deserve this title”, said Djokovic. “We both felt the demanding match that we played, but he came out on top, he was the better player, tougher mentally”.
Djokovic, playing in his 21st Grand Slam final and seventh in NY, was quickest out of the blocks. Even though he lost the tie-break, the seeds of the comeback had been sown. But no matter the circumstances, Wawrinka was still too good for Djokovic. Frustrated, Djokovic demolished his racquet, collecting a code violation from umpire Ali Nili. I feel better than him. He doesn’t look this threatening against any other player. He appeared to start cramping in the fourth set as he quickly slipped 0-3 down. Much to Wawrinka’s irritation, at 1-3 Djokovic called the trainer and took a medical timeout for treatment for blisters.
Wawrinka becomes only the fifth man in the Open era to win more than one major tournament after turning 30, following Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, Andre Agassi and Jimmy Connors in achieving the feat.
In reaching his first US Open final – after semi-final exits in 2013 and 2015 – Wawrinka had saved a match point in a gritty five-set win over unheralded Dan Evans, held off 2009 champion Juan Martin del Potro in four and rallied for a four-set win over 2014 finalist Kei Nishikori.
The big four stay the big four, like that.
Wawrinka said his late career success is not the product of any grand design, but just the culmination of years of dedication.
Certainly Wawrinka gets Djokovic’s vote for inclusion, having taken two of his three titles at the Serb’s expense.
“I just didn’t capitalise at all on my opportunities”, said Djokovic. While that stunning one-handed backhand leapfrogged Rafa’s forehand as the most brutal shot in modern-day tennis for quite some time now, his insatiable hunger to excel in Grand Slams, especially against Novak, is something which puts the Swiss in a different league altogether. I think they’ve been there more than 10 years.
Wawrinka has engineered a growing reputation as a big-match performer, however.
Angelique Kerber arrived back in Germany Tuesday saying she was now looking forward to some time out from tennis after winning the US Open and removing Serena Williams from the top of the tennis rankings.
“Just look at the tournaments they have won, how many years they’ve been there”, said Wawrinka, who has now won his past 11 finals.
“If you want to beat the No. 1 player in the world, you have to give everything”, said Wawrinka who has won his last 11 finals. Djokovic, Murray, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have won 42 of the last 47 Grand Slam titles and 53 of the last 58 Masters Series events. For me it’s also about the way to be at the top, or how to win big titles. That’s why I’m not there.
Advertisement
“I just want to push myself to the limit and see where I can go”, he said.
