By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, September 11, 2016
Stan Wawrinka dethroned Novak Djokovic, 6-7 (1), 6-4, 7-5, 6-3, to capture his first US Open championship in a riveting three hours, 55 minutes.
Photo credit: AP Photo
NEW YORK—Hurling himself into a heavy drive down the line Stan Wawrinka followed the shot forward. A racing Novak Djokovic stumbled near the court-side clock pursuing the blurring ball, running out of space and out of time.
Pounding drives with ambition, Wawrinka battered the world No. 1 into submission.
In a physically-demanding duel, Wawrinka dethroned Djokovic, 6-7 (1), 6-4, 7-5, 6-3, to capture his first US Open championship in a riveting three hours, 55 minutes.
Wawrinka: I Cried Before Final
"There is no secret. If you want to beat the No. 1 player in the world, you have to give everything," Wawrinka, who collected the champion's check of $3.5 million, said afterward. "As I said the other day, you have to accept to suffer and you have almost to enjoy to suffer. Because I think this Grand Slam was the most painful, physically and mentally, Grand Slam that I ever played."
Before a vocal crowd of 25,051 fans, the 31-year-old Swiss became the oldest US Open champion since a 35-year-old Ken Rosewall captured the 1970 US Open championship.
It is Wawrinka's third career Grand Slam title; all three have come against world No. 1 players. He defeated Rafael Nadal in the 2014 Australian Open final then snapped Djokovic's 28-match winning streak pulverizing 60 winners in the 2015 Roland Garros final.
"I'm completely empty," Wawrinka told the fans afterward. "I had to bring everything I had today against Novak. There was so much emotion with the crowd, with the atmosphere, with that stadium. This is something I never had before so thank you so much. It's been an amazing night."
It was a painful one as well: Wawrinka savors suffering so much it's become part of his game-plan.
Combining the broad shoulders of a rugby player with the muscular legs of a midfielder, Wawrinka generates massive power with his sweeping swings. The man nicknamed "Stanimal" was a physical beast and mentally shrewd, boldly driving the ball down the line at critical stages winning his 11th straight tournament final.
Pointing to his temple to punctuate key points, Wawrinka warded off 14 of 17 break points against the game's premier returner, withstood his own cramping issues and brought hurt to a grimacing Djokovic. The top seed clutched at his leg late in the third set and took two medical timeouts for treatment on his toes in the fourth set.
Wawrinka's willingness to play proactive tennis was critical, said Djokovic.
"I just didn't capitalize at all on my opportunities," Djokovic said. "I had plenty of them, break points. It was a terrible conversion of the break points. Just terrible from my side. You know, 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 where I was kind of more waiting for things to happen."
The 12-time Grand Slam champion, who fell to sturdy Swiss in the 2015 Roland Garros final, showed class in the aftermath crediting Wawrinka for his courage.
"It was absolutely deserved today; you were the more courageous player in the decisive moment," Djokovic told Wawrinka on court. "You deserved to win the title."
Repelling everything Wawrinka threw at him, Djokovic eventually drew a flat backhand into net to break for 2-0. Zapping a 118 mph ace wide that Wawrinka whiffed on, Djokovic stamped a love hold for 3-0 after just nine minutes of play.
Spiking stress, Djokovic's clean ball-striking and the fact Wawrinka's signature shot, the one-handed backhand, was scrawling miscues, all conspired against the man in the cranberry-colored clothes.
Still, Wawrinka dug in and staved off a pair of set points in the eighth game igniting energy from the crowd and planting doubt in Djokovic's head.
Serving for the set, Djokovic encountered his first obstacles falling into a 0-30 hole. Wawrinka pummelled a forehand into the corner collecting triple-break point. Djokovic denied the first two break points before dripping a double fault into net dropping serve.
The tie breaker crackled with one of the most electric points of the tournament as Wawrinka worked the width of the court nudging a forehand volley winner and throwing a massive fist. That pulsating play put Wawrinka on the board at 1-2 and sent fans into a frenzy.
Djokovic pressed the mute button immediately.
Sliding outside the doubles alley, he drilled a backhand winner down the line, hurled an uppercut into the air and urged the crowd to make more noise. Djokovic reeled off five straight points closing the 58-minute opener in which he won 16 of 18 points played on his first serve.
An ominous sign for Wawrinka was that Djokovic possessed a 51-0 record at the US Open when winning the opening set.
None of that mattered much to the first-time Flushing Meadows finalist was just getting warmed up.
Sensing Djokovic tightening with a 76 mph second-serve, Wawrinka stepped in and darted a backhand winner down the line, pointing an index finger to his temple to celebrate the break and a 3-1 second-set lead. Wawrinka withstood three break points then launched a rocket serve into the hip, eventually roaring back from love-40 to confirm the break.
Curling a crosscourt backhand that touched the line, Djokovic earned break point and broke right back on a Wawrinka error for 3-4.
Whipping a forehand winner down the line, Wawrinka earned a couple of set points in the 10th game. Djokovic knocked off a forehand volley to save the first but slid an inside-out forehand wide as Wawrinka screamed snatching the 47-minute second set with his second break of the set.
Slashing a forehand pass down the line for break point, Wawrinka broke for a 2-0 third-set lead when Djokovic, who tried a surprise serve-and-volley, pushed a volley wide.
Dialing in his damaging backhand, Wawrinka drilled that shot crosscourt to back up the break, saving a fourth break point of the set along the way, earning his fifth straight game.
The physicality of rallies conspired to drain both men, who were dripping sweat and going to the towel after nearly every point deadlocked at 4-all in the third set.
Djokovic, who had racked up six love holds, winced again late in the set.
Steering a backhand down the line long the world No. 1 faced set point. Wawrinka stepped up and blasted a forehand down the line that coaxed an errant backhand. Wawrinka stood and pointed to his temple again, signaling a strong mind through turbulent times to take a two-sets to one lead.
A problem for Djokovic was the sheer power and weight of Wawrinka's shot was winning more of the longer rallies. The bigger problem, Djokovic was winless in six prior Grand Slam finals when trailing two sets to one, including a 2015 Roland Garros loss to Wawrinka.
Though Djokovic was the fresher player, Wawrinka was the feistier one. Draining the Serbian's legs and self-belief, Wawrinka stung him with a clean backhand strike down the line then broke for 2-0 when Djokovic slapped a forehand off the Mercedes-Benz logo affixed to net.
After holding for 1-3, Djokovic took a medical timeout for apparent blisters on both feet, annoying Wawrinka who barked at chair umpire Ali Nili "not before my serve."
Nearly six minutes passed by the time play resumed with Wawrinka serving. Still seething, Wawrinka kept calm denying four break points then ripping a forehand winner for 4-1.
On his second championship point, Wawrinka closed a gripping show on Djokovic's 46th unforced error and raised his arms in triumph.
Emotion empowered Wawrinka to his third Grand Slam title; emotion nearly consumed him before the final began. In his post-match press conference, Wawrinka revealed he was shaking and crying in the locker room minutes before walking out onto Arthur Ashe Stadium.
"Today, before the final, I was really nervous like never before. I was shaking in the locker," Wawrinka said. "When we start five minutes before the match talking, last few things with (coach) Magnus (Norman), I start to cry. I was completely shaking. But the only thing I was convinced with myself that my game was there.
"Physically I was there. My game was there. Put the fight on the court and you will have a chance to win."
Wawrinka brought the fight tonight and walked off as US Open champion.