US Open: Stan Wawrinka beats Novak Djokovic to claim third Grand Slam title

The 31-year-old is the oldest Grand Slam champion since Andre Agassi in 2003

Stan Wawrinka (Getty)

Competing in an era dominated by the so-called “Big Four” has been the greatest of challenges for Stan Wawrinka, but the 31-year-old Swiss proved here once again that on his day he can be more than a match for anyone. After an up-and-down year Wawrinka’s name had barely been mentioned by pundits before this US Open, but the world No 3 claimed the third Grand Slam title of his career with a stunning 6-7, 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 victory over Novak Djokovic.

Djokovic was appearing in his 19th final in the last 25 Grand Slam tournaments – 11 of which he has won – but while the world No 1 has regularly got the better of Andy Murray, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in recent times, Wawrinka has consistently found a way past him on the biggest stages. Since Djokovic lost to Nadal here in the 2013 US Open final, Wawrinka is the only player who has beaten him more than once in Grand Slam competition.

Remarkably, Wawrinka has now performed that feat three times in the last three years, having previously lost to the Serb 14 times in a row. The Swiss beat Djokovic in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open en route to his first Grand Slam title in 2014 and in the final of the French Open last year, when he thwarted – if only temporarily – the world No 1’s attempt to complete his collection of Grand Slam titles.

Now it is Wawrinka who is one short of the full set, having never gone beyond the quarter-finals at Wimbledon. His three Grand Slam titles puts him level with Murray. Meanwhile another Briton who played here will no doubt be wondering what might have been; Dan Evans had a match point against Wawrinka in the third round before losing in five sets.

Djokovic’s athleticism and durability has been unrivalled in the men’s game, but Wawrinka, one of the sport’s strong men, has found a way to make his power tell against the Serb. He has the weight of shot on both flanks to hit through Djokovic and the strength to outlast him in the most gruelling contests.

Just as he did at Roland Garros last summer, Wawrinka recovered after losing the first set to beat Djokovic with a combination of big hitting and coolness under pressure. It was the world No 3’s 11th successive victory in finals.

While Wawrinka had had the more demanding route to the final – he had played 23 sets and been on court for nearly 18 hours while Djokovic had played only 13 completed sets over less than nine hours – his opponent was the player with the greatest doubts over his physical condition.

Although Djokovic had consistently brushed aside questions about his fitness, the world No 1 has been treated for wrist, arm and shoulder problems in recent weeks. Nevertheless, he did not appear in much physical difficulty here in the final until he seemed to start suffering from cramp early in the fourth set and then took two medical time-outs for treatment to blisters on both feet.

After the gruelling heat and humidity of the previous days, the conditions in Arthur Ashe Stadium were almost perfect as the players walked on to the court for the final. At 29C it was still very warm, but the humidity had dropped from its energy-sapping peak on semi-finals day.

Wawrinka was wearing his usual garish cerise pink kit, while Djokovic wore a blue shirt rather than the white he had chosen for his previous match. His kit manufacturers were no doubt hoping that this one would last the distance, Djokovic having ripped his shirt away from his chest during his semi-final so that his body could “breathe a little bit more”.

Djokovic was immediately into his stride, breaking serve at the first attempt with some damaging returns, but Wawrinka found form in time to save a set point when serving at 2-5 and then to break in the following game.

The tie-break started with both men playing some sensational tennis. The third point ebbed and flowed in dramatic fashion until Wawrinka’s winning volley, upon which the Swiss milked the crowd’s applause. On the fourth Djokovic defended brilliantly before hitting a glorious backhand-down-the-line winner, after which the Serb took his turn at acknowledging the public’s acclaim. Nevertheless, the tie-break finished tamely, Djokovic winning it 7-1 after four successive errors by Wawrinka.

Losing the set was clearly a blow for the Swiss, but he must have drawn consolation from the fact that he had taken Djokovic the distance. Wearing down the Serb in a battle of attrition was always likely to be his best tactic.

In the fourth game of the second set Djokovic was broken after double-faulting on game point. Wawrinka held from 0-40 down in the following game, but with Djokovic piling on the pressure the Serb retrieved the break two games later. With the atmosphere in the cavernous 24,000-capacity arena reaching fever pitch, Djokovic’s level dipped again when he served at 4-5 and a loose forehand at 30-40 gave Wawrinka the second set.

By now the crowd were clearly behind the Swiss. Djokovic has been hugely successful here – this was his seventh appearance in the final – but he has never quite captured New York hearts in the way that Federer and Nadal did, while Wawrinka’s honest endeavour makes him a popular figure the world over.

Wawrinka saved three break points in the opening game of the third set, broke in the second game and dropped his own serve in the fifth after letting slip a 40-15 lead with some careless errors. When Djokovic served at 5-6, however, it was the Serb’s turn to falter as two successive backhand errors enabled Wawrinka to break for a two-sets-to-one lead.

Djokovic was on the ropes by now and Wawrinka continued to pummel his opponent. The Swiss again went 3-0 up and was clearly unhappy when Djokovic took a medical time-out for treatment on his left foot at 3-1, presumably thinking that the Serb was simply trying to disrupt his opponent’s rhythm. John McEnroe, commentating on television, described it as “complete abuse of the rules” and some in the crowd were not impressed either as they booed the world No 1 on the resumption.

Wawrinka promptly had to defend three break points but held for 4-1. At 5-2 Djokovic took another medical time-out, this time for treatment to his right foot. The Serb held for 5-3 and went 0-30 up when Wawrinka served for the match, but the Swiss held firm. After Wawrinka had put a forehand in the net on his first match point, Djokovic hit a backhand long on the second to give Stan the Man a memorable victory.