Wawrinka’s victory made him the first man apart from his legendary compatriot Roger Federer, Britain’s Andy Murray, Djokovic and Nadal to win a Grand Slam title since Juan Martin Del Potro won the US Open in 2009.
Novak Djokovic (R) of Serbia embraces Stan Wawrinka (L) of Switzerland after Djokovic retired due to a shoulder injury during their Men's Singles fourth round match on day seven of the 2019 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 01, 2019 in Queens borough of New York City. (Photo: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images/AFP
Swiss tennis star Stanislas Wawrinka said that beating Novak Djokovic in the quarter-final of the 2014 Australian Open was a mental breakthrough for him. Wawrinka would go on to beat Rafael Nadal in the final to win his first Grand Slam title.
“Yeah, it was a mental breakthrough for me, especially the match against Novak. I played him the previous year where the fifth set went to 12-10. So this time I told myself that if it goes that far, I need to win it,” the World No.17 told former World No.1 Chris Evert in a live video interview on Instagram.
“So, Rafa’s match was different. I was very relaxed. I told myself that I came here to win and I had to play the best tennis I could.”
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Wawrinka’s victory made him the first man apart from his legendary compatriot Roger Federer, Britain’s Andy Murray, Djokovic and Nadal to win a Grand Slam title since Juan Martin Del Potro won the US Open in 2009.
He beat defending champion Djokovic 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 9-7 in the quarter-finals after which he beat Czech Republic’s Tomas Berdych in the semis. In the final, he beat Nadal 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. Wawrinka went on to win the French Open next year and the US Open in 2016.
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