Fans lucky enough to have tickets to Sunday’s night session in Arthur Ashe Stadium will be treated to a blockbuster matchup, as three-time and defending US Open champion Novak Djokovic battles 2016 US Open titlist and No. 23 seed Stan Wawrinka.
The three-time major champion Wawrinka is playing himself back into form after major knee surgery at the end of 2017, and his lower seeding is not truly reflective of his current level of play.
Though Djokovic has a commanding lead in their head-to-head matches, with a 19-5 advantage, Wawrinka has several big wins over Djokovic in the later stages of the Slams, including his 2016 US Open title run, when the Swiss beat Djokovic in four sets in the championship match.
The two also met in the 2013 US Open semifinal, which Djokovic won in a five-set thriller. Overall in the Slams, Djokovic holds a slight advantage, leading 4-3. Sunday’s encounter will be the first meeting between the two since they squared off in the final three years ago.
While Djokovic has been part of the Greatest Player of All Time (G.O.A.T.) discussion for some time, the 34-year-old Wawrinka was a late arrival to the Slam party. Having the distinction of being the second best player from Switzerland in the age of Federer, Wawrinka claimed his first major at the 2014 Australian Open just before turning 29 and added to his Slam trophy case with his title run at the 2015 French Open and his aforementioned US Open victory.
Djokovic, 32, is in the midst of another dominant run, having claimed four of the last five Slam titles, and is widely considered the best hard-court player in the world. Through the first three rounds thus far, Djokovic has been nearly perfect, not dropping a set and playing with his usual precision from the back court. No one on the men’s tour can reset a point and turn defense into offense as well as Djokovic, and that will be Wawrinka’s main challenge.
In his first three matches thus far, Wawrinka has served superbly, piling up 58 aces, including a whopping 24 in his straight-sets defeat of Paolo Lorenzi in the third round. He’ll need to serve with the same effectiveness against Djokovic, the undisputed best returner in the men’s game. Wawrinka is an aggressive server, and he’ll likely forgo a higher percentage of first serves in an attempt to win as many free points on his deliveries as possible.
Three years is an eternity in tennis, and one area that Djokovic has improved upon substantially since they last faced off is his net game. Volleying and positioning in the forecourt used to be a liability for Djokovic, but that is decidedly no longer the case, as he is now a very effective volleyer and is more willing to move forward and end points at net. This may well prove to be key to Sunday’s outcome.
There is one thing certain about the encounter: it will be an electric atmosphere in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
