Third-seeded Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland overwhelmed world No. 1 Novak Djokovic 6-7 (1-7), 6-4, 7-5, 6-3, winning his first U.S. Open title here on Sunday.
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“He deserves to be in the mix, no doubt about it”, said Djokovic, who lost to the Swiss in the 2015 Roland Garros final.
“I can only say I’m happy with that trophy tonight”, he said, flashing a smile. “I was shaking in the locker room”, Wawrinka said. “Because I think this Grand Slam was the most painful, physically and mentally that I ever played”. My game was there. Just put the fight on the court and you will have a chance to win, and that’s what happened.
After winning the first set Djokovic was all set to go the distance to clinch his third grand slam title of the year following his victories at the Australian Open and French Open in 2016.
After considering skipping the U.S. Open because of injury concerns, Novak Djokovic made it all the way to the final for the sixth time in the past seven years.
Wawrinka had already been pushed to the limit in reaching the final. Ultimately however, the Serb was able to win the last five points of the deciding phase to take the set.
“They have not only been winning, but being in semi-finals, final every time”.
” 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 was feeling exhausted already at the beginning of the match”.
He required treatment for a blister on his big toe in the final set, prompting complaints to the umpire and tournament referee from Wawrinka as the interruption came before his service game.
Wawrinka has won only five of 24 career meetings against Djokovic, but has now beaten Serbian on the way to each of his own Grand Slam titles, including in the 2014 Australian Open quarterfinals and 2015 French Open final.
“There is no secret”, Wawrinka said.
The world number one, however, is confident his physical problems will not affect him ahead of the Asian swing.
“You have to accept to suffer and you have nearly to enjoy to suffer”.
Djokovic, who won last year’s U.S. Open and is 2-5 in Open finals, remains tied with Roy Emerson for fourth-most major titles all-time with 12, missing an opportunity to pull within one major of both Pete Sampras and Rafael Nadal.
Then he showed just how much he has left in the tank, capping a draining fortnight with a championship victory over world number one Djokovic.
Stanislaus Wawrinka was unable to contain his excitement after capturing his maiden US Open title and first grand slam trophy of the year.
“But then, then, then”. The two-time Champion also spoke about his niggling shoulder injury which had troubled him throughout the tournament. “And maybe that’s also one of the reasons I played so well”.
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“He loves to play in the big matches”, Djokovic added.
