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

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic fell to Stan Wawrinka in the final of the 2016 U.S. Open 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 the expense of Djokovic.

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 AAP 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 …

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