Stanislas Wawrinka won his first U.S. Open title Sunday, beating the world's No. 1 Novak Djokovic in a spectacular four-set match punctuated as much by the Swiss' mental fortitude as by his opponent's physical breakdown.
Coming into the match surrounded by doubts about to his fitness levels, the Serb -- who won last year's tournament -- appeared unable to keep up with his 31-year-old opponent, despite clocking in merely half the hours during his tournament campaign.
“I came here without expecting to win it, but every time I stepped on the court I tried to win every match,” the third-ranked Wawrinka said after the 7-6, 4-6, 5-7, 3-6 win.
“It was so much emotion. With the crowd, with the atmosphere, with that stadium. This is something I never had before,” he said, thanking the fans at Arthur Ashe Stadium for an “amazing night” as he collected $3.5 million in prize money for winning the tournament.
Wawrinka also had gracious words for Djokovic. “You are a great champion, a great person. Because of you I am here today.
“I want to congratulate you for everything you have done for the tennis so far,” he said.
“Congratulations Stan,” said Djokovic, who had gone on record before the match and described the Swiss as a “big match player”. Wawrinka has now won his last 11 finals in a row.
“This has been absolutely deserved today,” Djokovic said. “You were the more courageous player.”
The 29-year-old said two weeks before the tournament, he questioned whether he would participate, but decided to give it a shot, and what a shot he gave.
Both players benefited from full energy levels to bring their A-game at the onset, exchanging breaks and carrying the match to a first set tiebreaker.
Djokovic, who had dominated his opponent 10 to 2 in their past 12 tie-breaks, won this one too in style, steamrolling the Swiss 7-1.
The second set saw each again manage one break but Wawrinka broke on the final game, taking the set in 47 minutes and essentially making it a best-of-three match for the championship.
By the third set, Wawrinka had cut a complete figure with a superior backhand technique and soft touch, a decent serve as well as marvelous psychological strength.
And he needed every weapon in his arsenal for what proved to be the set that contained the defining moments of the match.
Up 3-0, it was only momentary drops in performance that prevented the Swiss from achieving what was shaping up to be a love set.
Djokovic appeared to be beating himself up halfway through as unforced errors mounted and took the bite out of his efforts to get back into the game.
The crowd that was used to seeing Djokovic win, were chanting “Nole, Nole!” in hopes of encouraging the 12-time Grand Slam winner to claw back.
And they succeeded. Blocking Wawrinka's path to a second break, Djokovic returned by breaking Wawrinka's serve to reach 3-3.
It was a tough mental battle from there. And three hours and one minute into the match, Wawrinka had done it – the mental snap, as he indicated with his signature move, a pointing finger to his temple -- as Djokovic was wide on a forehand, sealing the decisive set at 7-5.
At the beginning of the fourth, Djokovic was visibly hobbled but refused to call a medical timeout, suggesting that the fight against the Swiss had simply caused him great exhaustion.
As the scoreboard flashed 3-0, the Serb didn't even challenge two of the serves Wawrinka smashed his way.
Djokovic, however, then took a medical, protested by Wawrinka, to have a toe checked that seemed to be causing a lot of pain.
Although he appeared hurt, Djokovic's use of the medical timeout to reset himself for a stronger comeback is likely to be scrutinized in the aftermath of the last Grand Slam of the season.
On his path to the final, Djokovic benefited from two retirements, and in two cases used strategically timed medical breaks to get back into matches.
This time was different, however, as Wawrinka brought too much to the table and stood erect for too long for Djokovic to regain his groove, surrendering his title to the Swiss.
Wawrinka now has three major wins at Australian Open, French Open and U.S Open to his name, with the only remaining Grand Slam that has eluded him so far being Wimbledon.
