Stan Wawrinka has won a grand slam in each of the last three years. And he's done the hard way: Stan beat Novak Djokovic in all of them.
Previously known only as a doubles specialist, Stan's best grand slam result as of three years ago was his semifinal appearance in the 2013 US Open. There was the matter of Andy Murray that year. Fresh off his Wimbledon win, he came to New York as the defending champion. But it took the Swiss just three sets to end any hopes of a repeat in the quarterfinals. The next match saw Stan forged ahead of Novak two sets to one, before the Serb clawed his way back.
Djokovic wasn't so lucky the next time they met in a grand slam. Novak essentially owns the Australain Open. He'd been the winner there as far back as 2008, and had added two more in 2011, 2012, and 2013. He seemed poised for another that year, but Wawrinka upended him 9-7 in the fifth set. From there, he added Tomas Berdych and Rafael Nadal to his victim list, beating the Spaniard in four sets in the finals.
Now, for me, this all seemed like a fluke. "Let's see that again!", was probably my attitude. And losing in the first round at the French Open, and failing to make it past the quarterfinals of both Wimbledon and the US Open must have had everyone else thinking that, too. Roger Federer, Stan's old countryman (And four years older than him!) beat him in four at the All-England Club. Kei Nishikori beat him at the same stage of the US Open. There'd be some irony in that two years later.
In 2015, there was no repeat Down Under. However, Stan had quite the year. Semis at Australia, winner at Rolland Garros (Over Djokovic in four sets. The Serb had finally beaten Nadal in the quarters), quarters at Wimbledon. The US Open saw him get to the semifinals and lose to Federer. Straight sets.
So as 2016 rolled around, it sort of seemed hopeless for Stan. Novak Djokovic was in god mode. He'd won Wimbledon and the US Open to finish the year off in 2015. Soon, he added the Australian Open and French Open in '16, to make it four grand slams in the row! Andy Murray played amazing tennis at Wimbledon, and won it all. Soon, he'd add his second gold medal to his list of accomplishments. The Brit was playing his best tennis. The Serb was, the Serb. He came into the US Open finals that year, looking for his third slam of the year. He'd reached the finals for the seventh time. Even before that, Novak made the final four for the tenth straight year.
But Wawrinka, who'd lost to Canadian Milos Raonic at the Australian Open, to Murray at the French, and finally a resurgent Juan Martin del Potro at Wimbledon, wasn't about to let another grand opportunity slip away.
The Brit, Daniel Evans, took him to five sets in the third round. But from there, Stan found his "A" game. Illya Marchenko felt his wrath in the four sets in the round of sixteen. Next came del Potro. Four sets again. Nishikori, four sets. Back into a grand slam finals. Djokovic stood in the way. But again, four sets, and Stan had another grand slam to his name.
Stan Wawrinka has come out of nowhere in the last three years to surprise many a fan. He's always the underdog in the grand slam finals (And for good reason). Tennis is about to turn the page from the Federer / Nadal days and welcome in a new era. A new "Big Three". As 2017 dawns, it's obvious Murray (Three slams of his own so far) and Djokovic are there. Federer (injured) and Nadal (struggling) are not. So Stan is. Can he add another grand slam for the fourth straight year? Or in the coming years after? You'll have to keep following Stan The Man and see!
References
“Official Site of Men's Professional Tennis | ATP World Tour | Tennis.” ATP World Tour. Ifosys. Web. 11 Sept. 2016. <www.atpworldtour.com>.
"Stan Wawrinka Career Statistics - Wikipedia." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 11 Sept. 2016. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Stan_Wawrinka _career_ statistics>
Previously known only as a doubles specialist, Stan's best grand slam result as of three years ago was his semifinal appearance in the 2013 US Open. There was the matter of Andy Murray that year. Fresh off his Wimbledon win, he came to New York as the defending champion. But it took the Swiss just three sets to end any hopes of a repeat in the quarterfinals. The next match saw Stan forged ahead of Novak two sets to one, before the Serb clawed his way back.
Djokovic wasn't so lucky the next time they met in a grand slam. Novak essentially owns the Australain Open. He'd been the winner there as far back as 2008, and had added two more in 2011, 2012, and 2013. He seemed poised for another that year, but Wawrinka upended him 9-7 in the fifth set. From there, he added Tomas Berdych and Rafael Nadal to his victim list, beating the Spaniard in four sets in the finals.
Now, for me, this all seemed like a fluke. "Let's see that again!", was probably my attitude. And losing in the first round at the French Open, and failing to make it past the quarterfinals of both Wimbledon and the US Open must have had everyone else thinking that, too. Roger Federer, Stan's old countryman (And four years older than him!) beat him in four at the All-England Club. Kei Nishikori beat him at the same stage of the US Open. There'd be some irony in that two years later.
In 2015, there was no repeat Down Under. However, Stan had quite the year. Semis at Australia, winner at Rolland Garros (Over Djokovic in four sets. The Serb had finally beaten Nadal in the quarters), quarters at Wimbledon. The US Open saw him get to the semifinals and lose to Federer. Straight sets.
So as 2016 rolled around, it sort of seemed hopeless for Stan. Novak Djokovic was in god mode. He'd won Wimbledon and the US Open to finish the year off in 2015. Soon, he added the Australian Open and French Open in '16, to make it four grand slams in the row! Andy Murray played amazing tennis at Wimbledon, and won it all. Soon, he'd add his second gold medal to his list of accomplishments. The Brit was playing his best tennis. The Serb was, the Serb. He came into the US Open finals that year, looking for his third slam of the year. He'd reached the finals for the seventh time. Even before that, Novak made the final four for the tenth straight year.
But Wawrinka, who'd lost to Canadian Milos Raonic at the Australian Open, to Murray at the French, and finally a resurgent Juan Martin del Potro at Wimbledon, wasn't about to let another grand opportunity slip away.
The Brit, Daniel Evans, took him to five sets in the third round. But from there, Stan found his "A" game. Illya Marchenko felt his wrath in the four sets in the round of sixteen. Next came del Potro. Four sets again. Nishikori, four sets. Back into a grand slam finals. Djokovic stood in the way. But again, four sets, and Stan had another grand slam to his name.
Stan Wawrinka has come out of nowhere in the last three years to surprise many a fan. He's always the underdog in the grand slam finals (And for good reason). Tennis is about to turn the page from the Federer / Nadal days and welcome in a new era. A new "Big Three". As 2017 dawns, it's obvious Murray (Three slams of his own so far) and Djokovic are there. Federer (injured) and Nadal (struggling) are not. So Stan is. Can he add another grand slam for the fourth straight year? Or in the coming years after? You'll have to keep following Stan The Man and see!
References
“Official Site of Men's Professional Tennis | ATP World Tour | Tennis.” ATP World Tour. Ifosys. Web. 11 Sept. 2016. <www.atpworldtour.com>.
"Stan Wawrinka Career Statistics - Wikipedia." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 11 Sept. 2016. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Stan_Wawrinka _career_ statistics>
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