HIGHLIGHTS-Tennis-Day 14 at the U.S. Open

Sept 11 (Reuters) - Latest news from the 14th day of the U.S. Open tennis championships on Sunday (all times GMT):

Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the U.S. and Czech Lucie Safarova, the 12th seeds, battled back from a set and break down to oust top-seeded French pair Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic 2-6 7-6(5) 6-4 to clinch the women's doubles title.

The final day of the 2016 U.S. Open began with the women's doubles final at Flushing Meadows.

Aggressive style almost pays off for runner-up Pliskova

Kerber begins reign as number one with U.S. Open win

1-Caroline Garcia (France) and Kristina Mladenovic (France) v 12-Bethanie Mattek-Sands (U.S.) and Lucie Safarova (Czech Republic)

Not before 2000GMT/4 PM ET

1-Novak Djokovic (Serbia) v 3-Stan Wawrinka (Switzerland) (Compiled by Nivedita Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrew Both)</s>What term do you want to search? Search with google</s>After treading a gilded path to his seventh US Open final, Novak Djokovic stumbled, literally, in sight of the prize as Stan Wawrinka found the strength and conviction to beat the world No1 in four pulsating sets – the last of them wreathed in controversy – on a warm September night.

Patrick McEnroe, commentating in the ESPN box, shared the cynical displeasure of most onlookers when the defending champion, who appeared to be cramping, was granted a dubious medical timeout to have his toes tended to midway through the fourth set, shortly after being broken.

It appeared to be a risible manipulation of the regulations, which say timeouts can only be taken for an “acute medical condition that requires immediate attention”. Wawrinka did not seem impressed, seeking assurance from the tournament referee, Brian Earley, that all was above board – and shooting his opponent a knowing glance.

“Sorry, man,” Djokovic said to Wawrinka. For what, one wondered? They had been playing for three hours and 23 minutes, by a distance Djokovic’s longest match of the tournament.

“That was another example of a complete abuse of the rules,” said McEnroe. “It’s up to the officials to do something about it, and they just don’t have the guts to do it.”

Otherwise, the final was a minor classic. Wawrinka won his third major 6-7, 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 in just under four hours, with several passages of glorious tennis from both players.

“I don’t know what’s happening right now. Novak, you’re a great champion,” Wawrinka said after the match. “We know each other since many, many years. I had the chance to practise with him and play him in big matches. This is amazing. I came here not expecting to win it, but I was trying to win every match. I am completely empty. I had to bring everything today.”

Djokovic paid tribute to his opponent after the match. “I cannot tell you that [about their exchange at the net]. It was a friendly chat. Congratulations Stan. You were the more courageous player in the decisive moment and you deserved to win this title. He was the better player, tougher mentally. It was a fantastic couple of weeks for me. I didn’t know if I should come a few weeks before because I suffered physically.”

In the last 50 men’s slams, only the Argentinian Juan Martín del Potro here in the 2009 final, has broken the hegemony of the old world, as George Bush Jr used to call it – and, in another all-European final, Switzerland prevailed over Serbia. It was Wawrinka’s first US Open, to go with titles in Melbourne and Paris, and his fifth victory in 23 matches against the world No1. Under the circumstances, it might have been the most satisfying.

When Wawrinka beat Djokovic to win the French Open last year, he trusted his strong right arm, the one tattooed with Beckett’s famous “fail better” quote. It did not click immediately there or here – but nor did it fail him when it mattered. After dropping the first set, he not only avoided embarrassment, he crushed the Serb to win. It was an extraordinary fightback.

The heatwave finally broke, the lightest of zephyrs soothing the finalists’ brows in ideal conditions, with the roof open and the court playing a little more quickly than in the humid conditions that had prevailed for much of the tournament.

As at Roland Garros, Wawrinka started nervously, spraying shots everywhere, and Djokovic hit an ominous rhythm to go 3-0 up in under 10 minutes. But Wawrinka kept faith in his ground strokes, almost disregarding the circumstances. Where Gaël Monfils had tried to rope-a-dope Djokovic in the semi-finals, Wawrinka was still going for the knockout.

The champion inexplicably dropped his guard. A 134mph serve earned Wawrinka a tie-break after he had played much of the set on his heels, but Djokovic played some sublime shots to take the set in his ninth shootout win over Wawrinka in 10 such contests, this time giving up just a single point.

He moved to the second set comfortable in the knowledge that he was 51-0 at this tournament after winning the first set. Yet there was something in the still, early evening air to suggest drama.

As he did in Paris, Wawrinka drew that single-handed backhand from its scabbard and painted the deuce corner on his way to saving three break points for 3-1 up just under the hour. Djokovic prowled the baseline, breathing hard and looking as if he was enduring some sort of private hell. Perhaps he was. Tennis at this level is no picnic.

The Swiss, whose serve has been such a weapon here, hit his fourth double fault, and was hanging on at 4-1.

Djokovic broke back but gestured angrily towards Boris Becker and his team as Wawrinka held to love for 5-4. A blistering forehand down the line earned Wawrinka two set points in the 10th game. Djokovic saved one of them to win a tense rally with a deft volley, but he shoved a forehand wide and they were a set apiece.

The world No1 smashed his racket to smithereens during the break. Who could blame him?

Wawrinka saved three break points to hold at the start of the third after nearly two hours of tennis.



At about this point in his semi-final against Monfils, Djokovic was almost out on his feet in the oppressive heat and humidity. Still, he had played only eight hours and 58 minutes getting to the final, through 13 completed sets, because three of his six matches were incomplete due to a walkover and two retirements; Wawrinka endured nearly twice that: 17 hours and 54 minutes through 23 sets.

Yet there was little between them in stamina and strength as each sought to win another two sets, preferably in a row. When the world No3 broke in the second game of the third set, the odds swung sharply in his favour. Djokovic knew he was in trouble. Bundled out early at Wimbledon when ambitions of a calendar slam were still alive, and hobbled since with injuries to wrist, elbow and both shoulders, the proudest of champions would not lie down, though. He broke back and after two-and-a-half hours, they were level again, a set each and 3-3.

A quarter of an hour later, Djokovic held to love for the sixth time, to stay in the set, but his level dropped at 6-5 and a loose backhand gave Wawrinka set point. Djokovic sliced a backhand wide – and the noise level in the arena went rock-concert crazy.

All tournament, Djokovic has had to receive treatment for some complaint or other. At 30-30 on his serve in the second game of the fourth set, he doubled up in pain after belting a forehand from deep, clutching at his groin. Two points later, Wawrinka broke him for 2-0.

Wawrinka broke to love, but Djokovic did not immediately seek medical assistance before the fourth game, perhaps suspecting it was cramp that had cut him down – and that is not treatable, as it is considered a failure in condition. He was desperate and somehow fought through three deuce points to hold.

Then the trainer emerged, Djokovic took off his shoes and asked for a callous to be clipped from under the big toe of his left foot, as well as a quick manicure of the toes on his right foot.

Refreshed, Djokovic returned to the court, and was not moving like someone with tender feet. He grabbed his 16th and 17th break points – but could not reap a dividend. And there weren’t too many people in the arena who had much sympathy with him. At the 2-5 changeover, the trainer re-emerged to treat Djokovic’s feet again.

He held, somehow, again moving with freedom, and went up two points as Wawrinka served for the title and his girlfriend, Donna Vekić, could barely watch as he struggled to deuce. The Swiss won an epic rally to get to match point with a gentle dab, Djokovic sprawled on hands and knees at the back of the court – and Wawrinka raised his arms in triumph as his opponent’s final shot drifted long.

What a fortnight it has been. It began with Phil Collins, of Chiswick and Miami, singing In the Air Tonight (rather well), an apt choice to mark the opening of the new roof, and culminated before play on Sunday with Norm Lewis’s rich baritone embracing the national anthem, after a moment of silence to mark the 15th anniversary of 9/11, as members of the US Marine 6th Communications Battalion, Brooklyn, drew the Stars and Stripes across the court.

They do have a sense of occasion in this noisy old town, and they were rewarded with a final that had pretty much everything.</s>Stan Wawrinka’s tennis career has been a textbook study of persistence and patience, with his Grand Slam championship success delayed until age 28 and continuing into his 30s.

That was once the tennis version of middle age.

Those virtues served the Swiss veteran well Sunday in the U.S. Open men’s final, a taut and often fraught match against defending champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia. The 31-year-old Wawrinka, seeded third, lost the first set, rallied to take the next two and waited through two medical timeouts in the fourth set by the top-seeded Djokovic before finishing off a 6-7 (1), 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 victory, in a match lasting nearly four hours.

Maybe, just maybe, 31 is becoming the new 21.

Wawrinka joined Hall of Famers Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, Andre Agassi and Jimmy Connors — legends all — in winning two or more Grand Slam singles titles after turning 30. Agassi notched two of his eight majors after turning 30, in 2001 and 2003 at the Australian Open. This was Wawrinka’s third Slam title; he won the 2014 Australian Open at 28 and the 2015 French Open at 30.

He is one major — Wimbledon — from completing a career Grand Slam.

Maybe winning three of the four majors can be dubbed a Stan Slam.

“At the beginning, for me, I never dreamed to win a Grand Slam until I won the Australian Open,” Wawrinka said. “It was never a dream because for me it was way too far.”

He said on the court during the trophy ceremony that he was “completely empty.” Wawrinka elaborated on that in his post-match news conference.

“I put everything on the court. Not only today but the past two weeks,” he said. “I was trying to be tough with myself. Not to show anything. Not to show any pain. Not to show any cramp. I was suffering on the court.”

He also revealed that he was a mess in the locker room when he was going over match details beforehand with his coach, former tour player Magnus Norman.

“I was really nervous like never before,” Wawrinka said. “I was shaking. Five minutes before the match, talking, last few things with Magnus, I start to cry. I was completely shaking. But the only thing I was convinced with myself was my game was there.”

Wawrinka is unbeaten in his last 11 finals, going back to 2014. He got better and stronger as the tournament went along. He saved match point in the third round against the largely unknown Dan Evans of Britain. He had won just four times in 23 matches against Djokovic before Sunday, but one of those wins happened to be the French Open final in 2015.

A telling statistic: Djokovic was three for 17 on break-point chances against Wawrinka, including one for nine in the last two sets. Djokovic called it “a terrible conversion” of break-point opportunities.

“In matches like this, if you don’t use the opportunities, the other guy comes and takes it,” said Djokovic, who won the Australian and French opens this year, his 11th and 12th major titles. “And that’s what he did. That’s why I said he was more courageous.”

The match was not without an element of controversy. Wawrinka won the second and third sets and took a 3-0 lead in the fourth over a visibly ailing Djokovic. The Serb fought off a break point to hold serve and then took an injury timeout before Wawrinka served at 3-1.

“The toenails were off and bleeding,” Djokovic said. “It was quite painful to move around.”

The first medical timeout lasted about six minutes and he took one more, just before serving to stay in the match at 2-5. That one lasted about 4½ minutes. ESPN commentator Patrick McEnroe said it was a “complete abuse of the rules.” Djokovic said he was allowed to take it, so he did.

Wawrinka asked the chair umpire what was going on when the first injury timeout came right before his serve, which was not on a changeover. Despite the timing — coming at such a critical juncture — he managed to hold his serve and his nerve.

His victory brought forth this question: Does tennis now have a big five? Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray … and now, possibly, Wawrinka, Swiss countryman of Federer, the all-time leader with 17 majors.

“He deserves to be in the mix, no doubt about it,” Djokovic said. “Stan won three Grand Slams now and three different ones . . . and he plays the best in big matches.”

Stan, the man in the bright fuchsia outfit, was hard to miss early in the tournament. In the end, it was his sublime play on the court that drew the most attention.

“The Big Four, I’m really far from them,” Wawrinka said. “Just look at the tournaments they’ve won, how many years they’ve been there. . . . I’m proud of myself by winning three Grand Slams. This is something I never expect and dream about. But I have them and I’m happy to take the trophy back home.”</s>Stan Wawrinka clinched his third grand slam title by blasting out Novak Djokovic to win the US Open.

Wawrinka had demolished Djokovic in the French Open final last year and he pulled off a similar display of destruction at Flushing Meadows to win 6-7 (1/7) 6-4 7-5 6-3.

Djokovic struggled physically in the final set and took a controversial time-out before Wawrinka's serve, but the Swiss held firm in Arthur Ashe Stadium to seal a dramatic victory.

When Djokovic's final backhand flew long, Wawrinka closed his eyes and looked up to the sky before holding his arms aloft in celebration.

At 31 years old, he becomes only the fifth man in the Open era to win more than one major tournament after turning 30, following Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, Andre Agassi and Jimmy Connors in achieving the feat.

Wawrinka ousted Djokovic en route to winning both the Australian Open in 2014 and French Open last year, and he proved his class again here to deny the Serb a 13th grand slam success of his own.

The world number three had been match point down against Britain's Dan Evans in the third round but he grew into the tournament and now stands one Wimbledon title away from completing a career grand slam.

"This is honestly amazing," Wawrinka said. "I came here without expecting to win it but every time I step on the court I tried to win.

"I played a lot of tennis these two weeks. I am completely empty. I had to bring everything I had today against Novak.

"There was so much emotion with the crowd and the atmosphere, this is something I never had before. It has been an amazing night again."

Djokovic, a beneficiary of three retirements in New York, had spent almost nine hours fewer on court than Wawrinka, but injuries have also blighted his progress and they caught up with him at the very end.

He took a medical time-out before Wawrinka's serve in the fourth, which angered his opponent, although there appeared no lingering bad feeling at the finish as the pair shared a warm embrace.

"Congratulations to Stan and his team," Djokovic said. "This has been absolutely deserved.

"Today you were the more courageous player in the decisive moments. You are a great champion and deserved to win this title."

Despite Djokovic's physical issues, Wawrinka was a convincing champion. He hit 46 winners, broke Djokovic's serve six times and became the first ever player to beat the top seed at the US Open after losing the first set.

He took time to get going as Djokovic broke first and raced 5-2 clear but the Serb spurned two set points and then the momentum shifted.

Finding his rhythm, Wawrinka broke back via a Djokovic double fault and after trailing for most of the opening hour, the Swiss had himself a tie-break.

He won what must have been the point of the tournament, a 19-shot rally that included two drop-volleys, one half-volley, one lob, one attempted pass and finally a Wawrinka volley-winner. The crowd leapt up for a standing ovation.

Djokovic lost that exchange but won all the others as a long Wawrinka forehand secured him the opening set.

Wawrinka, however, had found his groove and after breaking once with a trademark backhand, cannoned down the line, he did so again at 5-4 to snatch the second and level up.

This was the first time since round one Djokovic had not been ahead in sets but more unnerving was that he had lost control, Wawrinka unleashing at will while his opponent was left protesting at his box and smiling in disbelief.

Wawrinka broke for 3-0 in the third and while his golden spell dimmed enough for Djokovic to stay in touch, he broke again at 6-5, pointing his finger to his temple as he moved up two sets to one.

While Wawrinka had signalled his mental toughness, Djokovic was now struggling physically as he pulled up with pain in his left leg at the start of the fourth.

Wawrinka showed no mercy, breaking for 2-0 and holding for three, as a hobbling Djokovic walked his way through the game and barely put up a fight.

He took ice on his legs at the changeover and then could hardly serve, producing two double faults in the next game, yet saving break point to hold.

Umpire Ali Nili then granted Djokovic a six-minute medical time-out to take treatment on his feet and before the serve of Wawrinka, who made his irritation clear to both umpire and opponent.

Djokovic even apologised to Wawrinka but the tension was palpable when play resumed, as a sprightly Djokovic earned three break points but failed to capitalise.

Instead it was left to Wawrinka to serve out at 5-3. On his first match point, he dumped his forehand in the net but on the second, Djokovic fired long and after three hours and 55 minutes, his victory was complete.</s>Just like Karolina Pliskova, who lost in the women’s final, Stan Wawrinka was one point away from exiting the U.S. Open long before championship weekend.

Again, like Pliskova, Wawrinka used his versatile survival skills to wiggle out of the predicament and fought off match point by forcing the issue. It was the middle weekend of the Open and Wawrinka faced match point in the fourth-set tiebreaker against the lightly regarded Dan Evans of Britain. Wawrinka got to the net and erased the match point with a forehand volley.

That’s how fine a line it is in professional tennis.

Wawrinka, 31, could have been on a beach somewhere this weekend, lamenting the third-round loss. Instead he will face No. 1-seeded and defending champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the men’s singles final Sunday. Wawrinka, seeded third, is aiming for his third Grand Slam singles championship and Djokovic is attempting to win No. 13, which would break a tie with Roy Emerson for fourth all time.

“The secret is simple,” Wawrinka said. “I have to play my best tennis, my best game. He’s the No. 1 player, amazing fighter. But I have enough confidence in myself that when I play my best tennis I can beat him.

“Hopefully I can bring that Sunday. But it’s the biggest challenge. When you play Novak, the No. 1 player in the final of a Grand Slam, it’s the biggest challenge you can have.”

Wawrinka is exceedingly dangerous when he reaches the final. He is 10-0 in tournament finals since 2014.

Said Djokovic: “He is a big-match player. He loves to play in the big stage against big players because that’s when he elevates his level of performance in his game. Just gets much better.”

This will be Djokovic’s seventh U.S. Open final — he’s won twice — and he holds a 19-4 career record against Wawrinka. Wawrinka beat him to win the French Open in 2015 and they had an epic battle at the Australian Open in 2013 with Djokovic winning, 12-10, in the fifth set.

There have been occasional interlopers among the big four of men’s tennis: Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray. Since the 2005 French Open, they’ve been responsible for 42 of 46 Grand Slam tournament titles.

By winning two Slams and a shot at a third major, Wawrinka is on the verge of transforming from a mere interloper to fifth member of the band. He was once firmly fixed in the shadow of his Swiss countryman, Federer.

Of course, who hasn’t been in Federer’s shadow at one time?

“He’s a very powerful, powerful player,” Djokovic said of Wawrinka. “Big serve. Probably the best, most effective one-handed backhand in the world now. You know, he can play it all. He has that variety in his game. He can be very dangerous for everybody.”</s>Stan Wawrinka clinched his third grand slam title by blasting out Novak Djokovic to win the US Open.

Wawrinka had demolished Djokovic in the French Open final last year and he pulled off a similar display of destruction at Flushing Meadows to win 6-7 (1/7) 6-4 7-5 6-3.

Djokovic struggled physically in the final set and took a controversial time-out before Wawrinka's serve, but the Swiss held firm in Arthur Ashe Stadium to seal a dramatic victory.
• Angelique Kerber wins US Open women's singles title with three-set victory over Karolina Pliskova
• Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares win US Open men's doubles in straight sets

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We're also on Facebook/mirrorfootball - your must-see news, features, videos and pictures throughout the day from the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Mirror Online.</s>NEW YORK — Stan Wawrinka is the first to acknowledge he hasn’t always been the most consistent player — or the strongest mentally. That’s why, when he shows his mettle during a match, he likes to point his right index finger to his temple.

That signature gesture got a lot of use in the U.S. Open final Sunday, when Wawrinka surprisingly managed to wear down Novak Djokovic and beat the defending champion 6-7 (1), 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 for his first U.S. Open title and third Grand Slam trophy overall.

“He was the better player. He was tougher mentally,” said Djokovic, offering two of the highest compliments a tennis player can receive from the talented and sturdy Serb ranked No. 1. “He knew what to do. And I was just unlucky in some moments. And that’s it.”

The 31-year-old Wawrinka is the oldest U.S. Open men’s champion since Ken Rosewall was 35 in 1970, and entered Sunday having spent almost exactly twice as much time on court as Djokovic during the course of the tournament: about 18 hours vs. about 9 hours.

“I played quite a lot of tennis these two weeks. I am completely empty,” said No. 3 Wawrinka, who noted during the trophy ceremony that Sunday was the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

By breaking in the final game of the second and third sets, and by saving 14 of 17 break points he faced, Wawrinka already had gained the upper hand by the time Djokovic clutched at his left leg and grimaced after missing a forehand while getting broken early in the fourth.

Djokovic was granted the unusual chance to have a medical timeout at a time other than a changeover. He removed both shoes and socks so a trainer could help with toe blisters. Wawrinka complained about the 6-minute break, and Djokovic looked over and apologized. Later, Djokovic started limping and received more treatment.

“We played almost four hours,” said Djokovic, “and I think I can speak in the name of Stan, as well: We both felt it.”

Wawrinka has won only five of his 24 career meetings against Djokovic, but has now beaten the 12-time major champion on the way to each of his own Grand Slam titles, including in the 2014 Australian Open quarterfinals and 2015 French Open final.

Before this matchup, Djokovic praised Wawrinka as “a big-match player,” and, boy, is he ever. Wasn’t always, though: Playing in the shadow of his far-more-accomplished Swiss countryman and good pal, Roger Federer, Wawrinka needed until his 35th appearance at a major, at age 28, just to get to the semifinals for the first time.

But look at Wawrinka now.

He has now won 11 tournament finals in a row.

He is 3-0 in Grand Slam finals, beating the No. 1-ranked player each time. Take that trio of highest-stakes matches out of the equation, and Wawrinka is 0-19 in all other matches against the top man.

And he did it Sunday by coming back against Djokovic, whose French Open title in June completed a career Grand Slam and made him only the third man — and first in nearly a half-century — to win four consecutive major tournaments.

Consider this: Djokovic had been 51-0 in U.S. Open matches, and 53-2 in all finals, when taking the first set. This time, though, while the thick-chested Wawrinka recovered from an edgy start to begin his typical bullying from the baseline — not only with his best-in-the-game one-handed backhand but off both wings — Djokovic seemed to lose his way.

As Wawrinka placed one stinging shot after another right on a line, Djokovic looked up at coach Boris Becker and the rest of his entourage while gesticulating with his hands and muttering. He went from appearing locked-in at the outset to completely drained in every way.

On one point, Wawrinka delivered a shot so hard it knocked the racket from Djokovic’s grasp and against a wall behind the baseline.

Then, after smacking a forehand winner to end a 20-stroke exchange, Wawrinka pointed to his temple. Two points later, the second set was his.

After a forehand passing shot drew an errant volley for a break early in the third set, Wawrinka pointed to his temple.

And so on.

Think about this: Wawrinka nearly was gone before the end of the U.S. Open’s first week. He was one point from losing in the third round against 64th-ranked Dan Evans, but eventually won in five sets. So Sunday’s victory made Wawrinka the first man to win the U.S. Open after saving a match point since — yes, that’s right — Djokovic in 2011.

“You’re a great champion, a great person. Because of you, I am where I am today,” Wawrinka said. “We know each other (for) many, many years, and I had the chance to practice many times with him and to play him on a big stage.”

With that Djokovic threw his left arm around Wawrinka’s shoulders, knowing which was more up to the task on this day.</s>US Open champion Stan Wawrinka says this year’s tournament at Flushing Meadows was the toughest Grand Slam of his career and that he accepted he would suffer in order to win in New York. Speaking at a news conference following his victory over world number Novak Djokovic, Wawrinka says he gave everything in the final. Djokovic meanwhile accepts that he lost his nerve after taking the opening set
• Stan Wawrinka beats Novak Djokovic in four sets to take first US Open title</s>Wawrinka beats Djokovic in four sets to win U.S. Open

Sept 11 (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 on Sunday 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 his wins in Australia and France.
In tennis, Swiss Stan Wawrinka defeats Serbian Novak Djokovic in four sets to claim the 2016 US Open men's singles title.