Stan Wawrinka defeats world No. 1 Novak Djokovic to win third Grand Slam title at U.S. Open: How it Happened

NEW YORK—Stan Wawrinka has won his third career Grand Slam singles title by defeating world No. 1 Novak Djokovic at the U.S. Open, 6-7 (1), 6-4, 7-5, 6-3. Here are some immediate thoughts on the result, as it relates to both men, along with set-by-set recaps and reaction as they happened.

Stan Wawrinka: Australian Open, French Open and now U.S. Open champion

When Roger Federer was at the peak of his powers, he was nearly unbeatable in finals. Federer’s compatriot Wawrinka—who at 31 is unquestionably still in the prime of his career—has followed suit. His victory over Djokovic marked the 11th consecutive final he’s won, including two victories over the Serb in majors.

Wawrinka, who only lacks a Wimbledon title in his trophy case (he also has an Olympic gold medal in doubles) is now 3-0 in Grand Slam finals. Stan The Man is a perfectly suitable nickname for this all-time clutch player, and he should be discussed in the same light as other great athletes who’ve been able to execute at their best when it matters most.

“I’m completely empty,” Wawrinka said on the court when it was over, after lauding Djokovic for the inspiration he’s given him.

Wawrinka will never have Tiger Woods’ volume of majors, but he sure plays well in red on Sundays.

Novak Djokovic, and the end of a long summer

It’s clear that the completion of his career Grand Slam at Roland Garros was Djokovic’s summit this season. At the time, we wondered if he might be able to best his 2015 campaign by winning all four Grand Slam titles, and perhaps collect an Olympic gold as well. Turns out that he wasn’t able to match the trio of major trophies he collected last year, as Djokovic never quite resembled the player who ran through the early portion of the 2016.

What’s ironic is that we saw Djokovic’s best tennis of the tournament on Sunday, even in defeat. The stinging shots and the stingy defense he’s known for were on display for large portions of this match, and it took a player of Wawrinka’s caliber to adequately handle them. Physically, Wawrinka was too much for Djokovic on this day. The No. 3 seed’s heavy groundstrokes eventually took their toll, and a toe injury hampered Djokovic as the match neared its conclusion.

But I think Djokovic was worn down mentally, more than anything. While I would never question Djokovic’s motivation, it’s no secret that he wanted to win the French Open more than anything else this year. That admission, in some way, had to influence his mindset at subsequent tournaments. At Wimbledon, the Olympics and at the U.S. Open, Djokovic lost to big-hitting players—Sam Querrey, Juan Martin del Potro and Wawrinka. Even though the Serb owns vastly superior records against all of them, the focus needed to diffuse those opponents cannot be underestimated. The margins are minute in tennis, even for Djokovic, an all-time great at 29 and 737-152 overall.

I wouldn’t worry about Djokovic based on this summer. Considering his résumé, I can overlook and it forget it—and I think he’d say the same.

Fourth (and final) Set: Wawrinka wins 6-3

Djokovic’s third-set loss led to a fourth-set deficit, as he immediately fell behind 3-0. He stopped the bleeding with a service hold, then called for the trainer to receive treatment on his toe. It created quite the controversy, as it didn’t occur on a changeover, and Wawrinka—clearly on a roll, and nearing the victory—was preparing to serve. It set Twitter ablaze; here’s a video of the actual treatment, from Kevin Anderson’s wife, Kelsey:

“He can see the physio whenever he wants,” Wawrinka complained to the chair umpire. “He could have done it while he was still serving.”

“Stan, sorry man. I couldn’t stand it,” Djokovic said, waving a hand in the air. Wawrinka acknowledged in kind.

With the crowd now firmly behind Wawrinka, a smattering of boos cascaded from Arthur Ashe Stadium. Djokovic ignored them and prepared to give Wawrinka his biggest challenge. He earned three break points, but Wawrinka saved them all, including one on a second serve that Djokovic uncharacteristically sent long.

Nevertheless, Wawrinka held serve, then held with far greater ease two games later for a 5-2 lead. At the same time, Djokovic took a full medical timeout.

But the great drama of the match had passed. Djokovic forced Wawrinka to serve out the championship, and on the Swiss’ second match point, he watched a backhand land long. It was of the two-handed variety, meaning the man with the most powerful one-handed backhand had earned his third major title.

Third Set: Wawrinka wins 7-5

Djokovic earned a break point in the first game of the set, but fell to 2 for 11 on such chances when he failed to convert it. Wawrinka added to Djokovic’s misery by breaking for a 2-0 lead. The world No. 1 was caught in the middle of a storm.

Even when Wawrinka was hitting with ample spin, he was still hitting big. There was little Djokovic could do to combat Wawrinka’s all-out aggression, and he soon found himself staring at an 0-3 deficit. The 2015 French Open final, in which Wawrinka played the same kind of jaw-dropping tennis, immediately came to mind.

And then, the fourth game happened. In a 13-point struggle for both men, Djokovic emerged from his slumber, hitting with more pace, tightening up his play, even grunting for the first time. He had mentally re-engaged himself in the match. Things were so clear that he even pretended a Wawrinka shot landed out, hit the ball back across the net, and watched the Swiss actually put the ball out.

When Djokovic held for 3-all, it felt like a completely different stage of the match. The feeling-out process was complete.

Wawrinka seemed to be on the brink of collapse while serving at 4-4 and 5-5, but managed to hold both service games in the face of Djokovic’s rising level of play. It felt like he was playing with house money at 6-5, with a tiebreaker assured at a minimum. I sensed a push coming from Wawrinka, and that’s exactly what happened. When caught the line with a reviewed down-the-line forehand for 30-30, Djokovic was suddenly in danger.

At 6-5, 30-all, Wawrinka won the point by giving Djokovic every single kind of ball—slice, spin, flat, mishit—and eventually eliciting an error. But he brought out the heavy artillery on set point, hitting a forehand down the line (no review needed on this one), with Djokovic’s backhand stretch straying wide.

Second Set: Wawrinka wins 6-4

Remember the down-the-line backhand winner Djokovic hit to take a 3-1 lead in the first-set tiebreaker? Wawrinka did the same—“Look ma, one hand”—to take a 3-1 lead in the second set. He then pulled off the impressive feat of holding from 0-40, winning five straight points to fend off three Djokovic break opportunities. Wawrinka roared in approval of his effort; Djokovic sat down at the changeover and munched on dates.

But Djokovic’s return pressure remained. He took Wawrinka to break point in the Swiss’ next service game, thanks to a dipping backhand that Hawk-Eye confirmed in. When Wawrinka overhit on the next point to hand Djokovic a second-set lifeline, it was the top seed’s time to roar. He would go on to hold at love for 4-4.

In this match of alternating runs, you’d figure that Wawrinka’s time would come next. And you would be right. After holding for 5-4, Wawrinka earned two set points with a mammoth forehand winner; it terminated a 20-shot rally and capped his always-impressive display of hitting so hard, for so long, off both wings.

At 30-40, Djokovic—who served under 50 percent in the second set—hit wide to make this a best of three for the U.S. Open.

First Set: Djokovic wins 7-6 (1)

Given Djokovic’s minimal court time at Flushing Meadows, it was hard to get a sense of his form coming into this match. Over the first six rounds, Djokovic played less than nine hours of tennis, about half of Wawrinka’s total.

Yet after just nine minutes today, we learned plenty. Looking like the 12-time Grand Slam champion he is, Djokovic cruised to a 3-0 lead and was two points from taking a 5-1 advantage. The Serb was superb in all aspects of the game from the onset and hit his two best shots, his return and backhand, best of all. It was a tall order for Wawrinka to win points—he even whiffed on a service return.

Djokovic sustained his hot start with a love hold for 5-2, and then earned two set points in the next game as Wawrinka continued to misfire. But the Swiss, who is 4-19 against Djokovic but 1-0 against him in major finals, saved both pressure points and held serve—and then took a 0-40 lead in his return game. Djokovic double-faulted at 30-40 and, improbably, was brought back to level terms.

Three routine holds followed this first-set reset, necessitating a tiebreaker. In it, we saw Wawrinka’s best point of the day—an all-court exhibition of tennis excellence that quickly make the social-media rounds:

But it was answered, on the very next point, by Djokovic’s best shot of the day, a down-the-line backhand winner. The brilliant riposte quieted a possible Stan surge, and Djokovic ran out the tiebreaker with little trouble. Still, Wawrinka’s sudden upturn in form bodes well for the next set.