Wawrinka reaches first grand slam final
Swiss proves his upset win over Djokovic is no fluke by wearing down Berdych in a serving battle at the Australian Open
Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka backed up his upset of four-time champion Novak Djokovic by reaching his first grand slam final with a 6-3, 6-7 (1-7), 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-4) win over Czech Tomas Berdych in the Australian Open tennis semi-finals on Thursday.
Wawrinka ended a 14-match losing streak against Djokovic with a dramatic five-set, four-hour win in the quarter-finals, then followed that with a dominating performance against Berdych, the 2010 Wimbledon finalist.
“I don’t know what to say. I’m speechless,” he said. “I didn’t expect to make a final in a grand slam – tonight it’s happening.”
The eighth-seeded Wawrinka will meet the winner of Friday’s semi-final showdown between Spain’s Rafael Nadal and Switzerland’s Roger Federer, the 33rd instalment of their rivalry and the first at a grand slam since Nadal knocked Federer out of the Australian Open at the same stage in 2012.
I take the confidence from my level in general. I know that I’m playing my best tennis
Whoever he plays, Wawrinka will go into the final as an underdog. He has never beaten Nadal in 12 meetings, and has lost all but one of his 14 matches against his countryman Federer.
“I take the confidence from my level in general,” he said. “I know that I’m playing my best tennis.”