NEW YORK, (Reuters) – Third seed Stan Wawrinka rose to the occasion once again to beat top-seeded defending champion Novak Djokovic 6-7(1) 6-4 7-5 6-3 and win the U.S. Open yesterday for the third grand slam title of his career.
The 31-year-old Swiss, who defeated Djokovic on his way to winning the 2014 Australian Open and 2015 French Open, denied the world number one a third grand slam title this year following the Serb’s wins in Australia and France.
Wawrinka trailed Djokovic 19-4 in their career head-to-head, but the hard-working Swiss saves his best for the big matches and he came through again with a superlative performance to win his 11th tour final in a row.
The Swiss was better on the most important points of the nearly four-hour final that featured long rallies and brilliant shot-making from both players.
Wawrinka cashed in on six of 10 break point opportunities against Djokovic and frustrated the Serb by saving 14 of 17 break points against him.
The victory was worth $3.5 million for Wawrinka, who is only missing a Wimbledon victory to complete the coveted career grand slam.
