Although he lost the semifinal clash with Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka proved at this year's Flushing Meadows that he has reached a new, brighter stage in his career. The Swiss, who in the past always lacked the mental toughness to pull the trigger and win the big matches, defeated a slew of worthy opponents to reach his first Grand Slam semifinal.
Wawrinka was all fired up since the beginning of the tournament, and although he did not benefit from an easy draw, he showed his enormous talent, as well as him much improved mental strength, to achieve this incredible result. Following two straight-sets victories over Radek Stepanek, respectively Ivo Karlovic, the Swiss held his nerve to close out a hard-fought 6-3,6-2,6-7,7-6 triumph over former Australian Open finalist, Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis. The win gave him wings, and he went on to dismiss last year's semifinalist, Czech Tomas Berdych, 3-6,6-1,7-6,6-2 to book his place in his first New York quarterfinal. Having fallen two previous times in the last eight of a major, Wawrinka was determined to change his fortune. Facing an out-of-sorts Andy Murray, he put forth a stunning display to shock the defending champion 6-4,6-3,6-2.
In the semifinal against Djokovic, Stan started aggressively, building a two-sets-to-one lead. He could have even close it out in three sets, but the Serb is a fighter and he refused to conceal the match. He fought hard, and eventually took full advantage of his tired opponent to run away with an epic 2-6,7-6,3-6,6-3,6-4 triumph. Despite the loss, Stan remained upbeat about his deep US Open run. "The only thing that I can see, that's everything I'm doing outside the match, on the practice courts, on my life in general, is the good things and I'm on the right way. I just need to continue to practise hard and to try to get more victories like I did these two weeks."
"It was a great tournament for me," he added. "Tough match, tough loss. I gave everything. I fought until the end. With this crowd, it was an amazing experience."
So far 2013 is proving to be the best year of Stan's career. He started the season by pushing eventual champion, Novak Djokovic, 12-10 in the decider in Melbourne, he then won his fourth ATP title in Oeiras, reached his second Masters 1000 final in Madrid, and made the quarterfinals at the French Open for the first time. On top of that, he has re-established his presence inside the top 10 and has now made his maiden Grand Slam semifinal. "After the match in the Australian Open a lot of people were thinking it's going to be tough for me to lose that kind of match, but in the end I took all the positives from the match and I'm here now playing the semi-final. Today I lost again, but I'm back in the Top 10 and I'm playing my best tennis. I need to do the same."
If he can continue playing at this level, Stan has a chance of making the transition from a dangerous opponent to one of the leading figures in men's tennis.
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| Stan held his nerve to beat fan-favourite, Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis, 6-3,6-2,6-7,7-6 in the third round. |
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| The Swiss continued his great run, ousting last year semifinalist, Czech Tomas Berdych, 3-6,6-1,7-6,6-2 to book his place in the quarterfinals, his third quarterfinal at a major. |
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| The most impressive victory came in the last eight, where Wawrinka stunned defending champion, Andy Murray, 6-4,6-3,6-2 to reach his first Grand Slam semifinal. |
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| Stan came close to beating world No.1, Novak Djokovic, but he ran out of steam in the end, falling to the Serb in another epic battled. |
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