Third seeded Stan Wawrinka beat Top Seed Novak Djokovic by 6-7 (1), 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 for his first US Open title and third Grand Slam trophy overall.
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Stan Wawrinka became the number one contender to contest against Novak Djokovic in US Open final.
“I came here without expecting anything but every time I stepped on court I won”.
Wawrinka has now won all three Grand Slam finals he has played and his last 11 finals in a row, and has become the oldest male victor of the US Open since 35-year-old Ken Rosewall in 1970.
The third set proved particularly costly for Djokovic, who converted just one of his six break points as Wawrinka took both of his. With three grand slam titles, Wawrinka has been able to break the dominance of Big Four, comprising the quartet of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer Andy Murray and the Serb, who have shared 46 major titles among them.
Djokovic said that he lost his nerve in the “important moments”.
Djokovic has so far made seven trips to the U.S. Open final, winning the championship twice.
After the match, Djokovic said: “Congratulations, Stan, to your team as well”.
“If you look, yes, I have three grand slams. If you look, yes, I have three Grand Slams”.
Angelique Kerber, of Germany, poses with the WTA No. 1 trophy after winning the women’s single final at the U.S. Open tennis tournament, Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016, in NY. “He was better. He played the bigger points with a bit more courage”.
Wawrinka had won just four of 23 previous matches against Djokovic but two of those had come on the way to winning Grand Slam titles, and the contest brought out the best in him once again.
World number one Djokovic has 12 majors and 66 career titles, Federer has 17 majors and 69 titles altogether while Nadal owns 14 Grand Slams and 69 singles trophies in all. And maybe after the long run to the US Open final, Novak Djokovic finally can get some rest. This is something I have never had before.
With that Djokovic, threw his left arm around Wawrinka’s shoulders, knowing which of the two was more up to the task on this day.
Before this matchup, Djokovic praised Wawrinka as “a big-match player”, and, boy, is he ever.
Djokovic, a beneficiary of three retirements in NY, had spent nearly nine hours fewer on court than Wawrinka, but injuries have also blighted his progress and they caught up with him at the very end.
In a twisted series of events, Djokovic, victor of 12 Grand Slams, called for his trainer and took a medical time out for a toe pain.
“When we start five minutes before the match talking, last few things with Magnus [Norman, coach], I start to cry”. “I was struggling with that shot and with, you know, with the motion, with the movement and on the serve, with the technique because of what I carried into this tournament”. Just put the fight on the court and you will have a chance to win.
“This is incredible, for sure, fantastic two weeks”, Wawrinka said.
He took time to get going as Djokovic broke first and raced 5-2 clear but the Serb spurned two set points and then the momentum shifted.
Again, Wawrinka did not let the stoppage rattle him and after Djokovic won the next game, Wawrinka held serve to take the match. If someone had told me I was going to play in the final I would definitely have accepted it’.
And they succeeded. Blocking Wawrinka’s path to a second break, Djokovic returned by breaking Wawrinka’s serve to reach 3-3.
Wawrinka, who won his first major at the 2014 Australian Open, may be the ultimate big-game player in men’s tennis.
The “terrible” 18 per cent conversion rate, Djokovic said, was the one of the worst he could remember.
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Which is why they are putting him up with the other current greats, however Wawrinka is still humble when he is asked.
