Wawrinka beats Djokovic for championship
At 31, Swiss becomes oldest US Open winner since 1970 by toppling No. 1 to remain perfect in major finals
NEW YORK – Stan Wawrinka’s tennis career has been a textbook study of persistence and patience, with his Grand Slam championship success delayed until age 28 and continuing into his 30s.
That was once the tennis version of middle age.
Those virtues served the Swiss veteran well Sunday in the US Open men’s final, a taut and often fraught match against defending champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia.
The 31-year-old Wawrinka, seeded third, lost the first set, rallied to take the next two and waited through two medical timeouts in the fourth set by the top-seeded Djokovic before finishing off a 6-7 (1), 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 victory, in a match lasting nearly four hours.
Maybe, just maybe, 31 is becoming the new 21.
Wawrinka joined Hall of Famers Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, Andre Agassi and Jimmy Connors – legends all – in winning two or more Grand Slam singles titles after turning 30. Agassi notched two of his eight majors after turning 30, in 2001 and 2003 at the Australian Open. This was Wawrinka’s third Slam title; he won the 2014 Australian Open at 28 and the 2015 French Open at 30.
He is one major – Wimbledon – from completing a career Grand Slam.
Maybe winning three of the four majors can be dubbed a Stan Slam.
“At the beginning, for me, I never dreamed to win a Grand Slam until I won the Australian Open,” Wawrinka said. “It was never a dream because for me it was way too far.”
He said on the court during the trophy ceremony that he was “completely empty.” Wawrinka elaborated on that in his post-match news conference.
“I put everything on the court. Not only today but the past two weeks,” he said. “I was trying to be tough with myself. Not to show anything. Not to show any pain. Not to show any cramp. I was suffering on the court.”
He also revealed that he was a mess in the locker room when he was going over match details beforehand with his coach, former tour player Magnus Norman.
“I was really nervous like never before,” Wawrinka said. “I was shaking. Five minutes before the match, talking, last few things with Magnus, I start to cry. I was completely shaking. But the only thing I was convinced with myself was my game was there.”
Wawrinka is unbeaten in his last 11 finals, going back to 2014, and is unbeaten in three career Grand Slam finals.
He got better and stronger as the tournament went along. He saved match point in the third round against the largely unknown Dan Evans of Britain. He had won just four times in 23 matches against Djokovic before Sunday, but one of those wins happened to be the French Open final in 2015.
A telling statistic: Djokovic was three for 17 on break-point chances against Wawrinka, including one for nine in the last two sets. Djokovic called it “a terrible conversion” of break-point opportunities.
“In matches like this, if you don’t use the opportunities, the other guy comes and takes it,” said Djokovic, who won the Australian and French opens this year, his 11th and 12th major titles. “And that’s what he did. That’s why I said he was more courageous.”
The match was not without an element of controversy. Wawrinka won the second and third sets and took a 3-0 lead in the fourth over a visibly ailing Djokovic. The Serb fought off a break point to hold serve and then took an injury timeout before Wawrinka served at 3-1.
“The toenails were off and bleeding,” Djokovic said. “It was quite painful to move around.”
The first medical timeout lasted about six minutes and he took one more, just before serving to stay in the match at 2-5. That one lasted about five minutes. ESPN commentator Patrick McEnroe said it was a “complete abuse of the rules.”
Djokovic said he was allowed to take it, so he did.
Wawrinka asked the chair umpire what was going on when the first injury timeout came right before his serve, which was not on a changeover. Despite the timing – coming at such a critical juncture – he managed to hold his serve and his nerve.
His victory brought forth this question: Does tennis now have a big five? Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray ... and now, possibly, Wawrinka, Swiss countryman of Federer, the all-time leader with 17 majors.
“He deserves to be in the mix, no doubt about it,” Djokovic said. “Stan won three Grand Slams now and three different ones ... and he plays the best in big matches.”
Stan, the man in the bright fuchsia outfit, was hard to miss early in the tournament. In the end, it was his sublime play on the court that drew the most attention.
“The Big Four, I’m really far from them,” Wawrinka said. “Just look at the tournaments they’ve won, how many years they’ve been there… I’m proud of myself by winning three Grand Slams. This is something I never expect and dream about. But I have them and I’m happy to take the trophy back home.”
(Los Angeles Times/TNS)