Stan Wawrinka says he has always enjoyed playing Novak Djokovic in top form, adding that some of his most memorable matches have been against the Serb. Wawrinka, 37, and Djokovic, 35, have starred in some Grand Slam classics, and the Swiss is one of the few players to have found success against the Serb at the Grand Slam stage.
“Of course I remember the matches against Novak, they were always real battles, especially in Grand Slam tournaments, when I was among the best players in the world. I remember well my victory against him in 2014 at the Australian Open in the quarterfinals.
It was the year of my first Grand Slam title. In fact, I have always liked playing against him in top form. They are good memories that, unfortunately or luckily, happened a long time ago,” Wawrinka told rts.ch, as revealed by We Love Tennis France.
In the quarterfinals of the 2014 Australian Open, Wawrinka defeated Djokovic in a great duel in which the Swiss won the fifth set with a 9-7 run. After beating Djokovic, Wawrinka went on to win his first Grand Slam title at Melbourne Park in 2015.
In 2015, Wawrinka delivered one of his best performances when he stunned Djokovic in the French Open final. The following year, Wawrinka again defeated Djokovic in a Grand Slam final, as he prevailed in the 2016 US Open final.
All told, Djokovic holds a 20-6 lead against Wawrinka. Wawrinka may not have a perfect record against Djokovic, but he has managed to beat the Serb in some of his biggest matches.
Nole Djokovic has won again
In a conversation during the No Challenges Remaining podcast, Carayol expressed how impressed he was with Novak Djokovic, who put all of his thoughts about last year to the back of his mind.
“I was just impressed by how… whether you wanna debate about how much it was his fault… just look the way he put all of that thoughts about last year to the back of his mind and focus on the moment, on the matches,” stated the journalist.
“I don’t know, he was just focused on what he needed and that served him well for his performances. There were so many more things that came about this year, particularly the injury in Adelaide semi-final against [Daniil] Medvedev.
He hurt his left hamstring. Even in that match, we saw Medvedev kind of mocking him… not fully believing he completely injured given how well he was still playing,” he asserted.
