What Novak Djokovic's Loss to Stan Wawrinka Means for Australian Open 2017

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic fell to Stan Wawrinka in the 2016 U.S. Open final Sunday, which ended what was an otherwise dominant season in somewhat disappointing fashion. 

Djokovic took the first set in a tiebreak before noticeably fading down the stretch. Wawrinka took the final three sets to earn a 6-7 (1), 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 win. It's Wawrinka's third career major championship and his second coming at Djokovic's expense.

The world No. 1, playing in by far his longest match of the tournament, needed multiple timeouts to deal with what he called a bleeding toenail. Fans and Wawrinka became frustrated at certain points with the delays in an already grueling match.

“Stan, you absolutely deserved to win. You were the more courageous player in the decisive moment and you deserve this title,” Djokovic said after the match, per the Australian Associated Press (via the Daily Telegraph). “We both felt the demanding match that we played, but he came out on top, he was the better player, tougher mentally.”

The 29-year-old Serb began the year by winning the Australian Open and his first-ever French Open title to complete the "Nole Slam" after closing 2015 with Wimbledon and U.S. Open triumphs.

While Djoker looked unbeatable coming out of the French, he was shocked by Sam Querrey at Wimbledon, ousted in the first round of the Olympics by Juan Martin del Potro and now tripped up by Wawrinka in New York.

"I lost my nerves in the important moments. He kept his cool. I think that's what decided the match," said Djokovic, per Howard Fendrich of the Associated Press. "I guess sometimes it happens, even though you have the experience and know what to do. Just the heat of the moment and importance of the match, I guess, was too strong for me at certain periods of the match. Just if you lose your cool, the match can go away."

With the 2016 Grand Slam calendar officially at an end, Djokovic's focus now shifts toward the 2017 Australian Open in January.

He has plenty of time to regroup and prepare between now and then, which should allow him to put the negative ending to 2016 in his rearview mirror.

This type of bad run isn't unprecedented for Djokovic, as he won just a single Grand Slam title in 2014 before reeling off three in 2015.

There are also indications he hasn't been healthy for much of the second half of the 2016 campaign, which may have had something to do with his struggles in big tournaments.

Djoker dropped out of the Cincinnati Open following his loss at the Summer Games with a wrist injury, and it seems unlikely he was 100 percent for the U.S. Open.

Djokovic now has the benefit of taking several months off if he chooses, and that should work wonders in terms of healing his wrist and resting on the heels of a long and grueling schedule.

The 12-time Grand Slam champion has a penchant for raising his level of play Down Under, as he has six Australian Open titles to his credit and has won the tournament five of the past six years.

Djokovic looked like a strong bet to win the 2016 calendar Slam after taking both the Australian Open and the elusive French Open, but the rigors of being the unquestioned top guy may have caught up with him.

The offseason comes at an ideal time for him, and assuming he can strike the right balance between rest and preparation, Djokovic will almost certainly be the favorite heading into the 2017 Australian Open.

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