Braveheart Wawrinka Tests Djokovic

Although he is a pretty accomplished player, the former top 10er, Stanislas Wawrinka, has always lived in the shadow of his good friend, the great Roger Federer. Not only did he fail to reproduce his compatriot's success, but there is also general feeling that the Swiss has under-performed. A natural talent, Stan possesses one of the most beautiful one-handed backhands on the ATP tour. However, his weak mental power has prevented him from fully exploiting his potential. Thus, although he seems to be cruising to victory, his inconsistency, fuelled by the lack of a winning attitude, has seen him fail to close out the big matches. 

Considering his bad habits, not many gave him a real shot against world number 1, Novak Djokovic, in their fourth round Australian Open clash. The Serb clearly dominates their head-to-head, so, judging by his recent form, he should have had a relatively easy day at the office. Wawrinka had other plans though. He started strongly as he usually does, quickly building a 6-1,5-2 lead. Djokovic is not one to give up easy though, so he stepped it up when he needed it the most, winning five consecutive games to level the match at one set apiece. He then broke decisively in the third to take charge of the encounter. 

Now this is when Wawrinka would usually throw in the towel. Not this time though. Showing an extraordinary fighting spirit, the Swiss hanged on with his opponent to push the battle into a decider. He broke early and looked to be headed towards the biggest success of his career, but was pegged back by Novak who got back the break. With nothing separating the two, the match went with serve until the 22nd game. In what looked like an easy hold, Stan gave away a 40-15 advantage and ended up losing the game when Djokovic produced an inspired passing shot to punish his reckless attack. The point marked the end of an epic match, which eventually saw two time defending champion progress into the quarterfinals.

Although heart-broken by the painful defeat, the Swiss praised his brave performance: "I think it's by far the best match I ever played, especially in five sets against the number one player." Also, he claimed that his spirited display makes him confident ahead of the new season: "At the end I was really, really close, so for sure I'm really sad. But I think there is more positive than negative. At the end he was still there. He was playing great tennis. We were both tired, but I really fought like a dog. I think I can use it, I hope I will use it," he said. "I think it's important if I want to keep improving myself, my game, to try to come back closer to the top 10."

Although there was less to separate the two players, in the end it was Djokovic who prevailed, recording an epic win over Stan Wawrinka at the third time of asking. The Serb two time defending champion booked his place in the quarterfinals after a hard-fought 1-6,7-5,6-4,6-7,12-10 victory.

Novaj Djokovic celebrate the marathon win in his flamboyant style, tearing up his T-shirt and showing his muscles to a delighted Australian Open crowd. 

Playing what he called "the best match of his career", an exhausted Wawrinka eventually succumbed to the world number 1.

photos (top-down): William West, GETTY IMAGES (x4), AP