Stan Wawrinka has won the 2016 US Open, besting top seed Novak Djokovic in four sets on Sunday. The match was competitive at the beginning, but Wawrinka made fewer mistakes and ultimately bested Djokovic for just the fifth time in 24 meetings between the two, winning 6-7(1), 6-4, 7-5, 6-3.
It's the first US Open title for Wawrinka, who also owns wins at the Australian Open and the French Open. That leaves Wimbledon as the lone Grand Slam unconquered by Wawrinka. His win over Djokovic can definitely be considered an upset, given Djokovic's historical dominance in the head-to-head, his place as the top seed and his strong play at the US Open over the years.
Djokovic had fewer unforced errors in the first set -- 10 of them to Wawrinka's 20 -- but he also hit fewer winners. That all balanced out in such a way that the opening set went to a tiebreak, which Djokovic won handily with Wawrinka only winning a single point. Officially, the first set ended, 7-6(1).
In the second set, the momentum shifted in Wawrinka's direction. Djokovic committed 14 unforced errors and Wawrinka converted on two of his three break point attempts. Djokovic missed out on three break attempts in the set, which ended, 6-4, in favor of Wawrinka.
Things did not improve for Djokovic there. He committed just eight unforced errors, but he only hit eight winners to Wawrinka's 18. The set was competitive, but Wawrinka took a 2-1 lead in the match after winning it, 7-5.
Djokovic quickly fell in a 3-1 hole in the fourth set, but started to fight back with multiple break point attempts to get things back on serve. Unfortunately for him, he came up short and couldn't bury the shots he needed to, and Wawrinka held to go up 4-1. Both players then held, and Djokovic was serving to stay in the match, down 5-2.
He did manage to hold his serve, but he was still down a couple breaks and Wawrinka was serving for the win. Djokovic fought hard, and got to deuce, but Wawrinka wound up winning regardless.
Going into Sunday's match, Djokovic and Wawrinka had met 23 times previously. Djokovic had won 19 of those matches, including their most recent meeting. But Wawrinka owned a 2015 win over Djokovic in the finals of the French Open, so pressure was never going to be a factor on Sunday.
Ultimately, this is just another chapter in the underrated rivalry between Djokovic and Wawrinka.
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