Meet New Australian Open Champion
26 Jan, 2014
Stan Wawrinka added a win over Rafael Nadal to his list of firsts in a stunning run to his maiden Grand Slam title, extending his rival’s injury-cursed run at the Australian Open with a 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 upset in Sunday’s final.
The 28-year-old Wawrinka had never taken a set off Nadal in 12 previous meetings, but attacked from the start against the 13-time major winner and regained his nerve after dropping the third set against the injured Spaniard.
Nadal appeared to be on the verge of retiring in the second set, when he hurt his back and needed a medical time out, but he refused to quit.
“It’s really not the way you want to win a tennis match, but in a Grand Slam final I’ll take it,” said Wawrinka, the first man in 21 years to beat the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked players en route to a Grand Slam title.
Now he’ll move from No. 8 to No. 3. In doing so, he’ll surpass Federer, a 17-time Grand Slam winner who lost to Nadal in the semifinals – to become the highest-ranked Swiss player for the first time in his career.
A constant supporter of his countryman, Federer was one of the first people to call and congratulate Wawrinka after his win.
Wawrinka also broke up a sequence of wins for the Big Four – with 34 of the previous 35 majors going to either Nadal, Djokovic, Roger Federer or Andy Murray.
“Stan, you really deserve it,” Nadal said. “Luck was against me today but you really deserve it.
Wawrinka composed himself after an exchange of breaks in the fourth set to serve it out in 2 hours, 21 minutes. After a muted celebration, he consoled Nadal in the courtside chairs before getting a chance to hold up and kiss his first big trophy.
AP
Image Mark Kolbe
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