Top 10 Stories from the 2016 U.S. Open
By Isobel Moody
Sept 11, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland celebrates with the championship trophy after beating Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the men’s singles final Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
5. Stanislas Wawrinka Takes That Slam Count Up to Three
Poor Stanislas Wawrinka gets far too little respect. Coming in, he’d already won two slams, matching Andy Murray’s number until the Brit won a third this July. He’s been ranked in the top four more often than not for the past two and a half years. And yet he was still considered as being out the “Big Four” of men’s tennis. While everyone conceded he might win this U.S. Open, his still wasn’t the name actually being predicted for it, even by those not predicting world number one Novak Djokovic.
Comfortably under the radar, while those of the Big Four at the tournament had their various kinds of crazy and two of them lost relatively early, Wawrinka just played. He did need five sets to get out of the third round, but that was largely because Daniel Evans was playing the match of his life for much of it. Plus he saved himself in the fourth set with a highlight reel ace. He was a good sport during del Potro’s send off, waiting until the moment was done with to serve his match out without complaint.
Even when he started the final off at less than his best, Wawrinka still won the point of the tournament in the first set tiebreak. He lost that, but then he brought himself together and ultimately beat the top player in the world simply by playing tennis good enough to beat him. He struggled a bit to deal with it when Novak Djokovic threw proceedings off with trainer visits in what proved to be the final set. But ultimately he did deal with it, winning a close final game to become a third-time slam winner. He also became the oldest men’s champion since 1970.
And what it’s becoming harder and harder to dispute is that he’s also become a member of what must now be called the Big Five. Djokovic didn’t really give him this victory; he took it. He is once again tied with Murray, and his play indicates this won’t be his last slam.
Next: Karolina Pliskova’s Run to the Final