Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland celebrates defeating Novak Djokovic of Serbia during their 2016 US Open Men’s Singles final match at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in NY on September 11, 2016.
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You can’t get treatment on court for cramp, so it was the big talking point of the final, other than the fact that the world No 1 was beaten by his buddy Stan Wawrinka, 6-7 (1) 6-4 7-5 6-3, in a hard-fought four hour battle.
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.
“I won that match and little by little, I started to play better each match”, Wawrinka said.
“Honestly, this is incredible”, Wawrinka, who has now won 11 straight finals, said on-court.
Wawrinka has now won 11 tournament finals in a row, handing Djokovic his first loss in a US Open match in which he won the first set.
The 29-year-old Serb began the year by winning the Australian Open and his first-ever French Open title to complete the “Nole Slam” after closing 2015 with Wimbledon and U.S. Open triumphs. How many Masters 1000 wins has Murray?
Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland reacts to winning the second set against Kei Nishikori of Japan during their Men’s Singles Semifinal Match on Day Twelve of the 2016 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 9, 2016 in the Queens borough of New York City. “That’s why I’m not there”.
“Today, before the final, I was really nervous like never before”, said Wawrinka.
“OK Stan Wawrinka, it’s your U.S. Open and you can take it”, said the commentators before the final service game, which had been delayed by four-and-a-half minutes as Djokovic changed the dressing on his feet.
In 2014, Wawrinka managed to win the Australian Open.
“I played quite a lot of tennis, I am completely empty”.
” I played a lot of tennis and was empty.Emotion with the crowd, atmosphere, and the stadium was awesome.This is an wonderful night”. “I think that’s what decided the match”, said Djokovic, per Howard Fendrich of the Associated Press.
Wawrinka also revealed why he has won all three Grand Slam finals he has qualified for.
Djokovic, on the other hand, took a very odd route to the ultimate showdown: He played barely nine hours because two of his opponents retired and one gave him a walkover.
Wawrinka, 31, is now the oldest man to win America’s grand slam since Ken Rosewell in 1970. He did so again even when going down a set to start, and is now three-for-three in major finals played. I’m really happy with that. “I put everything on the court”, Wawrinka said.
“It was a fantastic couple of weeks for me”.
“You were the more courageous player”.
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When Djokovic’s final backhand flew long, Wawrinka closed his eyes and looked up to the sky before holding his arms aloft in celebration.
