On September, 11 2016, a day that has been anticipated for two weeks now, Novak Djokovic, the Serbian superstar, will face off against Stanislas Wawrinka, the Swiss number two in the US Open men singles final. Though many people expected Djokovic to be in the final, Wawrinka was a dark horse of sorts, coming through after beating Argentine, Juan Martin del Potro and Kei Nishikori of Japan. But without boring you with all the detail, let’s take a look at the US Open Men’s Final preview.
To start off let’s take a look at Wawrinka. He has his primary advantage with his backhand, something that has been praised as mythical. He can use it in a rally to keep the ball deep and set up volleys. His one-handed backhand allows him to hide his slice, which he can use for a drop shot, or as an attacking low ball, which is nearly impossible to return. His backhand compensates for his forehand, which is average, but nothing spectacular, like that of Juan Martin del Potro. He uses a hybrid flat/top spin swing which doesn’t give him much of an advantage, but keeps the ball deep. Then looking at his serve, he has a powerful first serve which he can place on the outside corner of the box, so that he can come in and volley the ball on an attacking shot. By serving and volleying, he can imitate players such as Federer, who are able to cut the return time given in half. This two-shot rally can mean that Wawrinka can punch through weak returners. And speaking of returns, Wawrinka’s return is the weakest point of his game, because of his ready stance. He stays too high, meaning with Djokovic’s slice serve out wide, Wawrinka will have trouble getting low enough to return the ball
Then it’s important that we take a look at Djokovic. The best part of his game is his return. He has no trouble taking any serve, which can essentially negate Wawrinka’s serve and volley tactic, making the Swissman play more from the baseline. Djokovic’s backhand is very strong. While most players tend to run around their backhand, Djokovic has enough power and control to make it an effective shot that he is comfortable to hit. His serve has been weak this tournament, but has been very consistent, so Wawrinka shouldn’t have an advantage against him. Djokovic has an advantage from the case of his footwork. He is one of the fastest guys on the professional tennis tour, so as a result players have a hard time hitting drop shots and getting away with it. As a result, Wawrinka can not use a drop shot and beat Djokovic.
With the US Open final coming up tomorrow, as I write this, Novak Djokovic and Stanislas Wawrinka are set to face off in what is shaping up to be one of the greatest finals of all time. And with a bit of luck, it will end up as one of the greatest US Open finals of all time.
