Stanimal

[Karl Beem]

...is the animal. Great match!

[sagegrouse]

...is the animal. Great match!

Ah yes. Wawrinka beat Djokovic at the US Open finals today.

[Troublemaker]

Yep, great performance by Stan to dethrone Novak as US Open champ. Stan got stronger and stronger as the tournament rolled on.

He's going to finish his career with some pretty remarkable numbers. Only 1 Masters title but 3 Slams so far. He also has a chance at a career Grand Slam if he ever wins Wimbledon, but I suspect that one will elude him because he needs time to unwind his monster strokes, and grass is fast.

[Blue in the Face]

Stan was really close to losing in the third round to Evans. Anyone who watched that saw a really terrific match, at least until the 5th set. Whether it was running out of gas, running out of mental energy, the ankle injury the trainer refused to treat, or some combination of the three, Evans mustered little fight at the end, but was spectacular for much of the match, and really looked (to me at least) like he was going to take it in the 4th. Congrats to Wawrinka on a great tournament.

I was also very impressed with Pliskova's dismantling of Serena in the semis. Don't see that everyday. (And fwiw, the men really lucked out compared to the women on the weather for the finals. Sunday was beautiful here, Saturday was brutally uncomfortable).

[Troublemaker]

Stan was really close to losing in the third round to Evans. Anyone who watched that saw a really terrific match, at least until the 5th set. Whether it was running out of gas, running out of mental energy, the ankle injury the trainer refused to treat, or some combination of the three, Evans mustered little fight at the end, but was spectacular for much of the match, and really looked (to me at least) like he was going to take it in the 4th. Congrats to Wawrinka on a great tournament.

I was also very impressed with Pliskova's dismantling of Serena in the semis. Don't see that everyday. (And fwiw, the men really lucked out compared to the women on the weather for the finals. Sunday was beautiful here, Saturday was brutally uncomfortable).

Indeed. I wonder had the women played in the mild conditions on Sunday if Pliskova would've hung on to beat Kerber. Pliskova is a big girl, not used to going this deep in tournaments, and looked like she wore down in the brutal heat after going up a break in the final set. That said, "Care Bear" had a great year and is a deserving champ and new #1.

[CDu]

When he is on, there are few more impressive shotmakers in the world than Wawrinka. It's beautiful. He just struggles with consistency. But beating Djokovic in a grand slam final for the second time is really impressive.

Wawrinka and Murray are perhaps two of the best players in the history of the sport. It's unfortunate for them that they happened to play at the same time as three of the best players in the history of the sport.

Djokovic falls just short in his bid for a 13th slam title. Next slam opportunity will be his best tourney: the grueling Aussie Open. He'll go for his 7th Aussie title.

The first three slams of next year provide some interesting story lines. At the Aussie Open, Nadal will try to complete the career grand slam for a second time (a feat only done by Laver among the more modern-era players, if I recall correctly). Then, at the French, Nadal will take a shot at a 10th title, while Djokovic will attempt to complete the career slam x2 feat as well. And finally at Wimbledon Wawrinka can go for his own career slam.

[Green Wave Dukie]

[QUOTE=Blue in the Face;909754]Stan was really close to losing in the third round to Evans. Anyone who watched that saw a really terrific match, at least until the 5th set. Whether it was running out of gas, running out of mental energy, the ankle injury the trainer refused to treat, or some combination of the three, Evans mustered little fight at the end, but was spectacular for much of the match, and really looked (to me at least) like he was going to take it in the 4th. Congrats to Wawrinka on a great tournament.

...and it was amazing. The first 4 sets were all great; but late in the 4th, the tie-breaker, holding off match point, both players playing aggressive. Louie Armstrong stadium was rockin'. And a lot of us there thought we were witnessing an early exit by a top 4 seed.

Unfortunately, I was out most of yesterday and missed the first 3 sets of the finals and only got to see Novak (or, Djovak Nokavich, as the ESPN commentator on the Cubs-Astros game they switched to called him) pull his 'toe shenanigans' late in the 4th set. REALLY don't care for that guy, and he has not had a banner year, but still gotta admit that he's one heck of a player. (and boy did Patrick McEnroe give it to him - and the officials for letting it happen).

But I digress. When Stan the Man is sweetly stroking his backhand, it sure is a thing of beauty. He truly got better as the tourney went on.

[CDu]

Unfortunately, I was out most of yesterday and missed the first 3 sets of the finals and only got to see Novak (or, Djovak Nokavich, as the ESPN commentator on the Cubs-Astros game they switched to called him) pull his 'toe shenanigans' late in the 4th set. REALLY don't care for that guy, and he has not had a banner year, but still gotta admit that he's one heck of a player. (and boy did Patrick McEnroe give it to him - and the officials for letting it happen).

But I digress. When Stan the Man is sweetly stroking his backhand, it sure is a thing of beauty. He truly got better as the tourney went on.

Djokovic won two grand slams this year, including completing the career slam (and holding all four majors at once). I have trouble seeing how that is anything short of a banner year.

[Green Wave Dukie]

Djokovic won two grand slams this year, including completing the career slam (and holding all four majors at once). I have trouble seeing how that is anything short of a banner year.

No doubt. Stand corrected.

I guess I was thinking his early exits at Wimbledon and Olympics (admittedly to a top 10 talent) leave me thinking he is clearly currently beatable, which a year or 2 ago seemed a bit far fetched. And he got to the US Open final, and I actually thought he would win, but he clearly didn't play as well this tournament as he has in previous years.

But yes, he has had a great year.

[cato]

Djokovic won two grand slams this year, including completing the career slam (and holding all four majors at once). I have trouble seeing how that is anything short of a banner year.

It will be very interesting to see where Djokovic goes from here. Federer was unbeatable, until Nadal started beating him. Then Nadal was unbeatable, until Djokovic got over his earlier issues and ascended to heights the surpassed either Roger or Rafa.

Of course, Novak could not continue to win every single Grand Slam. But now that he has, gasp, dropped two, will he slip or regain his footing at the top of the mountain?