Crunch time: Stan Wawrinka ready to bring his best in US Open final against Novak Djokovic
The 31-year-old has ridden a wave to the decider at Flushing Meadows and is aiming to win his third major
Just like Karolina Pliskova, who lost to Angelique Kerber in the women’s final, Stan Wawrinka was one point away from exiting the US Open long before championship weekend.
Again, like Pliskova, Wawrinka used his versatile survival skills to wiggle out of the predicament and fought off match point by forcing the issue.
It was the middle weekend of the tournament and Wawrinka faced match point in the fourth-set tiebreaker against the lightly regarded Dan Evans of Britain.
Wawrinka got to the net and erased the match point with a forehand volley.
That’s how fine a line it is in professional tennis.
Wawrinka, 31, could have been on a beach somewhere this weekend, lamenting the third-round loss. Instead he will face defending champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the men’s singles final on Monday morning (Hong Kong time).