SGGPO
It can be said that, in his career, Novak Djokovic has had “two biggest nemesis”; one is Rafael Nadal and the other is Stan Wawrinka. If it weren’t for the Swiss veteran’s interference, Djokovic would have won two Grand Slam titles up to this point, meaning he would have 25 Grand Slams in his career, before Wimbledon 2023!
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| Djokovic beats Wawrinka |
The 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 3-6 defeat in the 2015 Roland Garros final; and the 7-6 (7-1), 4-6, 5-7, 3-6 defeat in the 2016 US Open final has, and still is, haunting Djokovic. As if “falling from the sky”, Wawrinka really made things difficult for Djokovic - right at the time when he had to try to overcome Roger Federer and try to compete with Andy Murray.
Wawrinka is also “no pushover”. A guy who dares to stand up and fight for glory for himself in the era of the “Big Three” (of course, according to the British media, that era must be the “Big Four”, including Andy Murray - with 3 Grand Slam titles and 2 Olympic singles gold medals) and won 3 different Grand Slam championships.
It's no coincidence that when he learned about the schedule to face Wawrinka, whom Djokovic had defeated 20 times in the past, but lost 3/4 times in the finals (including 2 Grand Slam finals), in the 3rd round of the 2023 Wimbledon Men's Singles, Djokovic shared a half-joking, half-serious comment, but the aftertaste made people think...
“He took away two Grand Slam titles from me. That was his role in my career, beating me in two memorable Grand Slam finals,” he said as he looked ahead to his 27th match against the Swiss, whose form and fitness have declined after so many ups and downs.
No one was surprised when Djokovic easily defeated Wawrinka with a score of 6-3, 6-1 and 7-6 (7-5); thereby, he had his 21st win when facing an opponent who is also 38 years old and from Lausanne (Wawrinka is 2 years older than Djokovic). Of course, this victory will not be "enough" when Djokovic fails at the most important moments.
But at this point, when each person has their own status, status, importance and historical role, Djokovic will have nothing but admiration for Wawrinka: "I have to say, it's amazing what Stan has done and is doing. Still at his age, after a few injuries."
“We’re two old guys trying to fight with the young guys. I think it’s important to know that. It’s amazing. It’s inspiring. Like Andy Murray, he’s been down the rankings for the last few years and he’s still trying to build himself up,” Djokovic said with admiration.
“We had some great battles on the biggest stages in tennis. I have a lot of respect for Stan as a player, and I really like him as a person. He is an absolutely lovely guy. So I wish him all the best for the rest of the season.”
While Wawrinka has been eliminated from Wimbledon, but will still be diligent in his professional tennis career in other tournaments, namely the US Open Series right after, Djokovic advanced to the fourth round, where he will play Hubert Hurkjacz (Poland, ATP rank 18), who beat Lorenzo Musetti (Italy, ATP rank 16) in another third round match.
In the past, Hurkacz has always been an easy target for the “predator” Nole. Djokovic has faced his Wroclaw-born opponent 5 times and won outright, including a remarkable 7-5, 6-7 (5-7), 6-1 and 6-4 victory in the third round of Wimbledon 2019. Djokovic is currently leading 5-0.
Speaking of Murray, the veteran British tennis player lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece, ATP 5th) with a dramatic score after 5 sets of 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 (7-2), 6-4, 6-7 (3-7) and 4-6. This is the second consecutive time that Tsitsipas had to overcome an opponent who had won a Grand Slam in a 5-set match, spread over 2 consecutive days.
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