Stan Wawrinka did not criticize Novak Djokovic’s controversial call for the trainer during the U.S. Open final.
The world No. 1 appeared to be hurt when he gestured and held his legs during the third game of the fourth set. However, he did not get medical attention during the changeover, instead completing the next game before asking if he could see the trainer with Wawrinka back on serve. Under the rules, stopping play usually requires an "acute" medical condition, as assessed by the trainer.
Wawrinka complained on court while Djokovic had his toes treated during a three-minute medical break, but did not call it gamesmanship after the match.
"I was just surprised by the timing,” he told a small group of reporters the morning after his 6-7 (1), 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 victory. “I think, sometimes, some players abuse the rules, for sure. But I think, also, you need to understand that sometimes you have real pain. But you try to push, to push. You play a few points and then you stop.''
Djokovic then had his toes seen and rewrapped a second time, with visible bleeding on his right foot. Tournament rules usually allow only one medical break per injury, but there are some exceptions, including when there is bleeding involved.
"I don’t know exactly what happened, but the second [time] they told me—because normally you have only one [session per injury]—it was because he was bleeding,” Wawrinka said. “For me, it’s normal the guy is bleeding, and you have to do something. I have no problem with that."
However, Wawrinka does believe that the crowd should have been informed.
"When he took the second one,” the world No. 3 said, “they come to me and they say, ‘I’m sorry, we have to take three minutes because he is bleeding and we don’t want to leave it like that.’ And I have no problem with that. But ... no one tells [the] people what is happening."
Wawrinka’s upset win gave him three career Grand Slam titles.