Novak Djokovic’s US Open title defence was brought to an abrupt halt by 2016 champion Stan Wawrinka on Sunday night, with the Serb forced to retire due to a shoulder injury after falling two sets and a break down against a Swiss in inspired mood.
The writing had appeared to be on the wall since the top seed required a length bout of treatment on his left shoulder in the second round against Juan Ignacio Londero but after negotiating his way through three rounds against weaker opposition, he finally came unstuck against a fellow multiple Grand Slam champion.
Wawrinka, who takes on Daniil Medvedev next, deserves great credit for his performance – his one-handed backhand was at its ferocious best and he served magnificently under early pressure – and his biggest win at a major since returning from knee surgery in 2018 was a moment well worth savouring.
But this was not the Djokovic who has dominated the Grand Slam scene and he was forced to call time on the match after falling two sets and a break down.
As Djokovic left the court he was roundly booed by the Arthur Ashe crowd and he gave them a sarcastic thumbs up as he conceded his title.
Djokovic created the first opening four games in but Wawrinka served his way out of trouble before drawing first blood with a break of his own in the next game.
Two further chances came and went for the Serb, with Wawrinka – who hit eight aces in the first set alone – again serving with pinpoint accuracy under the most severe pressure, and soon found himself a set down.
The Serb issued the perfect response, storming into a 3-0 lead with some precise hitting but his joy was short lived.
Back-to-back double faults put him under pressure before a stunning one-handed backhand winner up the line from the Swiss set up two break points, the second of which was converted as Djokovic cracked.
With his opponent on fire and the crowd against him, Djokovic appeared a resigned figure but it was his turn to come up with an unreturned serve under immense pressure to stop the rot and hold for 5-4.
Desperation suddenly overcame the world No. 1 who was attempting to shorten points as much as humanly possible but it led to poor shot selection and Wawrinka duly capitalised to break again for a 6-5 lead.
Once he’d wrapped up the set, he clinched an early lead in the third and Djokovic threw in the towel, much to the crowd’s annoyance.
