Novak Djokovic vs. Stan Wawrinka: Highlights, Comments, Stats and Prize Money

Novak Djokovic may be a 12-time major champion, No. 1 in the world and one of the best men's tennis players in recent history, but Stan Wawrinka captured the 2016 U.S. Open title on Sunday at Flushing Meadows, New York.

Wawrinka fought back from a tiebreaker loss in the first set to win the next three and come away with the 6-7 (1), 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 triumph. He didn't lose focus after Djokovic dominated that early tiebreaker, and the result was Wawrinka's third Grand Slam title and first U.S. Open championship. 

As for Djokovic, he failed to defend his U.S. Open title after beating Roger Federer in the final of last year's tournament. He also missed a chance to clinch his third Grand Slam championship of the year after capturing titles at the French and Australian Opens. 

According to the U.S. Open's official website, Wawrinka earned $3.5 million as the U.S. Open winner, while Djokovic settled for $1.75 million as the runner-up.

Match and Highlights

Djokovic put things on early cruise control and jumped ahead 5-2 in the first set. However, Wawrinka fought all the way back to force a tiebreaker, but the world's No. 1 player responded with an overwhelming performance in that tiebreaker.

He won seven of the eight points and jumped ahead 1-0 after a back-and-forth first set. The U.S. Open shared his set point:

Wawrinka carried that fighting spirit into the second set and won by a single break at 6-4 to even the match. He earned the set with a break when Djokovic made an uncharacteristic error, as the U.S. Open shared:

It was more of the same tightly fought drama in the third set when Wawrinka and Djokovic traded momentum. Wawrinka won the first three games of the set, but Djokovic bounced back with three straight of his own to tie it at 3-3. They traded the next five games, and Djokovic was set up to serve and force another tiebreaker.

However, Wawrinka broke him with a set on the line again, and the U.S. Open shared the final highlight of the set:

Despite losing that third set, Djokovic hit a beautiful drop shot, via the U.S. Open:

Wawrinka maintained his momentum and appeared primed to win the U.S. Open in the fourth set with a 3-1 lead when Djokovic used a medical timeout so he could receive treatment on his toe. Christopher Clarey of the New York Times noted Wawrinka was not pleased with the timing, while freelance journalist Simon Cambers commented on the sequence:

If it was a distraction, Wawrinka didn't show it. He won three of the next five games and clinched the title with a 6-3 fourth set. The U.S. Open passed along the final point:

Key Stats

It wasn't a match dominated by overpowering serves, as Wawrinka notched nine aces to Djokovic's six. However, Wawrinka was steadier with that serve and had only three double-faults to Djokovic's seven.

Djokovic was actually better on percentage of first-serve points won (78 to 71) and net points won (77 percent to 55 percent), per the U.S. Open's official website, but Wawrinka came through on the critical break points. He was a formidable 6-of-10 on those break opportunities, while Djokovic was a disappointing 3-of-17. 

Had Djokovic came through on a few more of those chances, he likely would have won the title on Sunday.

There wasn't a large difference in unforced errors, as Wawrinka committed 51 compared to Djokovic's 46. Much of the match boiled down to the break points, which worked in Wawrinka's favor on Sunday.

Comments

Each player showed class toward the other after the match. Wawrinka told Djokovic, per Tennis TV, "You're a great person. A great champion. Because of you I am where am today."

As for Djokovic, he praised Wawrinka's ability to come through in the critical moments, per BBC Tennis, "You were [the] more courageous player in the decisive moment, and he deserves his title."

Wawrinka also talked about what it took to win the title, per Clarey: “Honestly, this is amazing. I came here without expecting, without setting a goal to win it, but every time I stepped on the court, I was trying to win every match. I think I played quite a lot of tennis these two weeks. I’m completely empty; I had to bring everything I had today against Novak.”

That is exactly what he did, and the result was his first U.S. Open title. 

*All stats are courtesy of the U.S. Open's official website.