Wawrinka rises to occasion again, beats Djokovic for U.S. Open title

Two months shy of his 29th birthday, Stan Wawrinka did not own a single major title. Fast forward three seasons and he is now one Wimbledon triumph away from the career Grand Slam.

On the heels of victories at the 2014 Australian Open and 2015 French Open, Wawrinka cemented his status as a future Hall of Famer by capturing the 2016 U.S. Open title with a 6-7(1), 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 upset of Novak Djokovic on Sunday.

Although Djokovic was a considerable favorite on paper as the world No. 1, Wawrinka’s clutch performance could not have taken anyone by surprise. The Swiss is now an unbelievable 11-0 in his last 11 finals and he showcased that kind of mental strength throughout this fortnight. In a third-round thriller against Dan Evans, Wawrinka found himself one point from defeat but saved it late in the fourth set and recovered to prevail 4-6, 6-3, 6-7(6), 7-6(8), 6-2. He also survived difficult four-setters against Illya Marchenko, Juan Martin Del Potro, and Kei Nishikori in consecutive rounds.

“This is amazing, for sure,” Wawrinka commented. “Amazing two weeks. I [spent] so much time on the court. Today I knew it [would] be a really tough battle again playing the No. 1 player who always [pushes] you to play your best tennis if you want to beat him…. (It) was not only in the tennis side but physically and mentally was really tough. Honestly after the match I was completely empty. I put everything on the court; not only today, but the past two weeks.”

The world No. 3 may not have been the best player from start to finish of this tournament, but he was without question the most clutch. Against Djokovic, for example, Wawrinka won a dominant 20 of 27 points on which one of the two competitors had a chance to break serve; he saved 14 of 17 and converted six of 10.

That was the main reason why, during the trophy ceremony, Djokovic called Wawrinka the more courageous player.

“Simple as that,” the 12-time major champion added during his press conference. “I just didn’t capitalize at all on my opportunities. I had plenty of them; break points. It was a terrible conversion of the break points. Just terrible from my side.

“In the matches like this, if you don’t use the opportunities, the other guy comes and takes it. And that’s what he did. That’s why I said he was more courageous, because he stepped in and played aggressive [whereas] I was kind of more waiting for things to happen. And that’s it.”

By the fourth set, Djokovic was almost helpless in his effort to withstand Wawrinka’s punishing groundstrokes. A foot problem, for which the top-seeded Serb took a medical timeout down 3-1 in what proved to be the final set, certainly did not help his cause. With his movement clearly hampered, Djokovic watched 12 winners whiz past him in the fourth; 30 of Wawrinka’s 46 total winners came in the last two sets.

Djokovic bounced back after seeing the trainer and made a decent push to get back on serve, but he was unable to do so. The title tilt ended after three hours and 54 minutes when he sent a backhand well long with his opponent serving at 5-3, ad-in.

As for Wawrinka, his physical issues came–and went–only before taking the court.

“Today, before the final, I was really nervous like never before,” he admitted. “I was shaking in the locker (room). When [Magnus Norman and I were talking] five minutes before the match, I [started] to cry. I was completely shaking. But the only thing I was convinced with myself (was) that my game was there. Physically I was there. Put the fight on the court and you will have a chance to win.”

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