USA TODAY International Edition
Open final expected to be tug of war
In the U. S. Open men’s final Sunday, it’s the best tennis player in the world against the sport’s most reliable finisher.
Novak Djokovic has separated himself from the rest of the field in the last two years, winning five of the seven majors he’s played in to bring his career total to 12. Stan Wawrinka, his opponent, hasn’t lost in the finals of a tournament since midway through the 2013 season, winning 10 of 10, including the 2015 French Open against Djokovic.
“I know when I arrive in a final I’m full of confidence and … ready to play my best tennis,” said third- seeded Wawrinka. “But, when you play Novak, even if you play your best tennis you can lose.”
Djokovic has done that to nearly every opponent he’s faced at the Slams and elsewhere since the start of 2015: Meet their level and then raise his, going 137- 11 in that span. He has more tournament titles — 18 — than losses in that time frame.
“I always wish to get to this match, the final match, whenever I come to a Grand Slam,” said Djokovic, 29. “Before this Grand Slam, there were things that were happening with my health and physical state that were making me a little bit skeptical about how things were going to go during the tournament.”
Namely a wrist injury for Djokovic, who was shocked in the first round of the Olympics and then pulled out of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati two weeks before the Open. He had a subpar ( by his standards) summer, losing in the third round of Wimbledon ( there were “private issues” there, he said) before his wrist injury flared up.
He arrived in New York in questionable form but then didn’t have to answer many questions. He has completed just three out of his six matches at this U. S. Open, having been handed a walkover in the second round and then a pair of retirements later on. His semifinal against Gael Monfils was one of the most bizarre major matches ever played. Needless to say, it is hard to gauge where the world No. 1’ s level is at before the final.
Djokovic, in total, has spent just shy of nine hours on court this tournament. Wawrinka? More than 16 hours.
But Wawrinka has been gaining steam, his team feels, since the outset of the event. He saved a match point against unheralded Dan Evans in the third round, then beat the likes of Juan Martin del Potro and Kei Nishikori to reach a third career major final.
“I’m many times surprised, in best of five sets, how many lives Stan has,” his coach Magnus Norman said.
While Djokovic leads their head- to- head 19- 4, Wawrinka has won two of the last six, including an epic Australian Open quarterfinal en route to his debut Slam win in 2014, then that memorable Paris final 15 months ago, when Wawrinka’s patented one- handed backhand was on fire.
It will have to be again on Sunday to beat the game of Djokovic, which has few or no cracks in it.
“Stan is a big match- player,” Djokovic said. “He loves to play on the big stage against big players, because that’s when he elevates his level of performance in his game. … He can be very dangerous for everybody.”
Wawrinka knows, however, that Djokovic is the toughest ask at this point in a major final, even with his own streak of 10 wins in a final.
“It’s a Grand Slam final and I’m sure he’s going to be on top of his game,” said Norman. “That’s what we are preparing for.”
Said Wawrinka: “When you play Novak, the No. 1 player in the final of Grand Slam, it’s the biggest challenge you can have. Novak is a strong guy. He’s mentally a beast. It’s not easy to play him. I’m sure he’s gonna bring his best tennis for the final.”