PhotoFor the third time in the last three seasons, Stan Wawrinka has done the toughest thing in tennis: stop Novak Djokovic in a Grand Slam tournament. Sunday’s victory came in the United States Open final, and Wawrinka’s 6-7 (1), 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 triumph gave him a third major singles title at age 31. He has had to solve the riddle of the elastic Djokovic to win them all. Wawrinka surprised Djokovic in the quarterfinals en route to the 2014 Australian Open title; stunned him in the final to win the 2015 French Open and has now beaten him in Arthur Ashe Stadium, too. But his luck ran out against Wawrinka, who has now won 11 straight finals on tour and is now missing only one Grand Slam title – Wimbledon - from his expanding collection.

Source: New York Times September 12, 2016 00:22 UTC