Stanislas Wawrinka Upsets Novak Djokovic To Win The French Open

After four hard-fought sets that proved to be quite entertaining for the spectators at Roland Garros, Stanislas Wawrinka defeated Novak Djokovic by a score of 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

Wawrinka finished the match with an incredible 60 winners, doubling Djokovic’s total of 30. Also, he only had four more unforced errors than Djokovic, which is a surprise given how many difficult shots Wawrinka attempted.

Djokovic had great trouble winning medium-length rallies, only winning 40 percent of these rallies. When he wins over 50 percent of these types of rallies, Djokovic wins 82 percent of his sets. Djokovic also found it difficult to return Wawrinka’s first service, only winning 25 percent of those points. While Stan had no troubles with his first serve points, Djokovic was only able to win 63 percent of his.

Wawrinka’s aggression was the most important factor in his victory. Not only his aggression, but his effectiveness when on the attack. This type of play has been a constant throughout Wawrinka’s career, but what put him on another level today was his ability to defend. Wawrinka showed us a delightful slice backhand, which we rarely see, when Djokovic attacked.

With this win, Djokovic would have been the eighth player in tennis history to have won the career Grand Slam. The career Grand Slam is when you have won every Grand Slam in your career. Only two players have done it in a calendar year, Australian Rod Laver and American Don Budge. With this loss, Djokovic was unable to continue his winning streak of 43 matches. While accepting his runner-up trophy, Djokovic was greeted by a prolonged standing ovation. Novak cried while receiving these cheers because of how much he wants to win this title.

With this win, Stan Wawrinka has still yet to lose a Grand Slam final, having won two. His first Grand Slam victory came in 2014 at the Australian Open, where he beat Rafael Nadal.

Wawrinka turned 30 at the end of March. The last player to win a Grand Slam over the age of 30 was Wawrinka’s mentor and fellow countryman Roger Federer.

Stan Wawrinka has received a lot of unwarranted attention due to his “shorts.” Hopefully he does not now believe that this is his lucky apparel.

“I’m going to swim, play tennis and then sleep in them,” he said, according to the French sports newspaper L’Equipe.

Wawrinka dedicated his victory to his coach, Magnus Norman, who was defeated at the French Open in 2000. Norman was formerly world number 2.

[Image Source: AFP]