In 2013, Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka played a brutal, grinding men’s singles semifinal, a match-of-the-year candidate that ended with the Serb thumping his chest, bellowing to his box and advancing to the men’s singles final.
On Sunday, the two men will renew one of the most physical rivalries in tennis – this time in the final round, on tennis’ grandest stage.
Djokovic and Wawrinka each reached the men’s singles final with victories Friday in Arthur Ashe Stadium, the world No. 1 prevailing over Gael Monfils in one of the most bizarre final fours ever contested – a fitting affair given his peculiar road to the title tilt – and Wawrinka imposing his will and his game on a determined Kei Nishikori.
Both matches went four sets. In both, physicality trumped artistry. And so we are into the men’s final, where once again Wawrinka will try to power through the best defense in tennis history, and Djokovic will work to frustrate the Swiss into errors.
It is not a match for the faint of heart. Djokovic and Wawrinka would have it no other way.
Here’s a recap of the day that was and a look ahead to Day 13 – women’s final day – at the 2016 US Open:
Match of the Day: While both baseliners, almost exclusively so, Kei Nishikori and Stan Wawrinka play to different strengths – Nishikori employing speed, explosiveness and whip-quick strokes, and Wawrinka relying on his physicality and a blunt-force ground game. They collided brilliantly Friday evening, exchanging blows from the backcourt over three hours and across four sets, each set tilting on the smallest of margins. In the end, power trumped speed, with Wawrinka charging into his first US Open final, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-2, coming back from a break down in the second set to turn the tables on the No. 6 seed.
Wawrinka now has a chance to win a third Grand Slam title, which would tie Andy Murray for the fourth-most among active men, behind all-timers Roger Federer (17), Rafael Nadal (14) and Novak Djokovic (12). And in the title match, he will revive his hard-court rivalry with Djokovic, the two having played classic five-setters at the 2013 Australian Open (won by Djokovic), the 2013 US Open (Djokovic) and the 2014 Australian Open (Wawrinka). Overall, Djokovic leads their head to head, 19-4, but the Swiss KO’d him in their only Slam final, at Roland Garros a year ago. A repeat performance Sunday afternoon and Wawrinka will have a piece of history.
Player of the Day: A bizarre series of walkovers and retirements meant that Djokovic had completed just one match between Day 1 and Friday’s semifinal, leading many to wonder if that lack of match preparation would have an adverse effect on the defending champion. The initial answer was a resounding no, the last two sets offered a maybe. In a confounding match of fits and starts, multiple trips from the trainer, 12 breaks of serve, 18 double faults, one WWE-style shirt rip and one Coke break during a changeover, both Djokovic (shredded shirt) and his opponent, 10th-seeded Monfils (Coke break), struggled in the heat and humidity, mixing brilliant displays of athleticism with mishits born of utter exhaustion.
Djokovic sprinted out to a 5-0 lead in the opening set, cruised through the second stanza and appeared on his way to an easy win. But Monfils, who appeared visibly ill throughout, made a match of it, pushing the world No. 1 before running out of steam at the end, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2. With that, Djokovic advanced to the men’s singles final here for the sixth time in seven years, and the seventh time overall, an achievement streak with little historic precedent. In fact, only Ivan Lendl, who reached eight consecutive finals from 1982 to 1989, and Roger Federer, who advanced to six in a row from 2004 to 2009, match the Serb’s Flushing success in the Open era. Next up for Djokovic: a final date with Wawrinka and run at a third men’s singles title and a third Grand Slam of 2016.
Upset of the Day: Mixed doubles partnerships can be peculiar things. Even in an Olympic year, the two teammates will play at best five tournaments together, often coming together at the last second courtesy of agents, sponsors or pure dumb luck. On Friday, one such partnership struck gold. Laura Siegemund and Mate Pavic, who had never met prior to this fortnight, claimed the first trophy of this year’s US Open, upsetting No. 7 seeds CoCo Vandeweghe and Rajeev Ram, 6-4, 6-4, in the mixed doubles final. Afterward, a visibly stunned Siegemund expressed her admiration for her partner, saying they will have to play again in the future. Their next opportunity is the 2017 Australian Open, where they would enter as the reigning US Open champions.
Quote of the Day: “I’m not wasting my time. I think I know how to try to play the best, and to play the best sometime is to improve. And when the guy is too good, you know, you change. Not academic, but I try to be better. If those people talking, talking, come help me. I’m more than happy to have them help. But I feel that, you know, they want to help me, he’s still Novak. He’s still Novak to play.” – Gael Monfils, responding to criticism of his play Friday, explaining that much of his performance in the semifinals against Djokovic was a tactic to throw the world No. 1 off his game.
Looking Ahead: The 2016 US Open women’s singles champion will be crowned Saturday afternoon, with surprise finalist Karolina Pliskova and ascending world No. 1 Angelique Kerber squaring off for the title.
The 24-year-old Pliskova, seeded 10th, had never before advanced past the third round of a Grand Slam event prior to this year’s Open. But she has proved unflappable to this point, sandwiching eyebrow-raising wins over Serena Williams and Venus Williams around a quarterfinal victory over Ana Konjuh, in the process joining Justine Henin (2007) and Kim Clijsters (2009) as the only women to defeat both Williams sisters in the same Open.
Kerber, meantime, is assured of assuming the top spot in the world when the new rankings are released on Monday, snapping Serena’s record run of 186 weeks at No. 1. The 28-year-old had never reached a Grand Slam final prior to this year. On Saturday, she will be playing in her third of 2016, after winning the Australian Open and falling to Serena at Wimbledon. The German lefty has not dropped a set yet this tournament, brushing aside two-time Wimbledon champ Petra Kvitova and former US Open finalists Roberta Vinci and Caroline Wozniacki in the past three rounds.
A victory Saturday would provide the capstone on a tremendous season. A victory for Pliskova means four different Slam champs for 2016.
