NEW YORK – A few minutes before the 2016 U.S. Open final, Stan Wawrinka was crying in the locker room.
He was nervous. Shaking. He had played the Biggest Match of His Life before, but here he was again, in a Grand Slam final—his first at the U.S. Open—up against Novak Djokovic, the No. 1 player in the world. As Wawrinka later recounted, he was in tears as he spoke to his coach, Magnus Norman, before taking the court.
Four hours later, Wawrinka again became emotional. This time, under much different circumstances: He had just beaten Djokovic 6–7(1), 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 to win the third Grand Slam title of his career.