US Open: Wawrinka knocks out defending champion Djokovic with extraordinary fight

Stan Wawrinka has earned the nicknames “Stan the Man” and “Stanimal” for a reason: no one possesses self-belief like he does. The 2016 US Open winner did the impossible again on Sunday night: knocking out Djokovic in a commending three-setter.

Stanislas Wawrinka is just a phenomenal fighter. As we predicted, the three-time slam winner defeated the world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in a marquee matchup under the Arthur Ashe lights on Sunday, 6-4, 7-5, 2-1 (retired).

Djokovic’s problematic left shoulder flared up again, which disturbed his serving ability most of all, and once he faulted on his serve at the beginning of the third, the 16-time slam champ read the way the remainder of the match would go, nodded to his team, and went over to congratulate Wawrinka. The crowd unfairly booed him afterward—they wanted a full fight to the finish—but there was no use in prolonging the inevitable. Djokovic couldn’t get a toe into the match, with the Swiss player breaking him in the first two sets.

“It’s never the way you want to finish a match. I feel sorry for Novak. He’s a friend and an amazing champion. We’ve played some amazing battles all my career,” Wawrinka said during his on-court interview afterward. “I was playing some very good tennis. I am happy to be back.”

The win over Nole has capped an extraordinary fight back to top form for “Stan the Man,” who underwent double knee surgery two years ago and has been building his career back since. He’s progressed in several tournaments this year but hasn’t won a title yet since his return to the sport.

“It’s been really tough since the surgery. It’s taken me two years to be back at this level,” Wawrinka continued. “When I was on this court last year, I wasn’t really ready but it’s amazing to be back at this level and the atmosphere is something special.”

Still, the world No. 24 has a pretty good track record at grand slams, at least when he reaches the final. He’s made four, and won three of them, including against all world No. 1’s (Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, and Djokovic in 2016 at the US Open). The only final he lost was at Roland Garros to Rafa, of course, in 2017. Perhaps it was shades of the 2016 loss to the former world No. 3 that spooked Djokovic, but once it was clear that his physicality wouldn’t allow him to come back from being two sets down in the fourth round, the reigning Wimbledon champion throw in the towel.

But it’s not like the Serbian great didn’t fight like he did in this incredible 21-shot rally:

https://twitter.com/espn/status/1168342190331817984

It’s just that Stan Wawrinka didn’t let up, which left Djokovic in the type of position he often puts opponents himself.

It’s a question of how much recovery time Novak Djokovic will take to heal up his injured shoulder, and what tournaments he will participate in for the rest of the year.

Up next for Stan Wawrinka is the tournament’s bad boy, Daniil Medvedev. They’ve only played once, two years ago, before Wawrinka decided to undergo knee surgery, on grass at Wimbledon. The Russian won that bout, but I have a feeling that circumstances may be a bit different on the hard courts of the US Open, with a resilient Wawrinka feeling pretty confident.

The crowd will undoubtedly be in the Swiss player’s court, but it doesn’t seem like Medvedev really cares.

https://twitter.com/usopen/status/1168314848394039296

The Round of 16 continues on Monday, with the quarters almost set, viewable on ESPN. Week two just kicked off with dramatic flair. Stay tuned here for all your US Open and tennis action. For my predictions for the final slam of the year, listen to Just End the Suffering podcast here.