THE EPIC DJOKOVIC-WAWRINKA SEMI WAS ALL ABOUT THE THEATER OF THE ABSURD
By Bill Simons
On his left arm, Stanislas “Stan” Wawrinka has a provocative quote from Samuel Beckett, Ireland’s 20th century champion of the Theater of the Absurd.
But the third game of the fifth set of this year’s US Open semi between the ninth-seeded Wawrinka and No. 1 Novak Djokovic was more than absurd.
It was epic, memorable, and quite probably the best game in tennis history. Simply put, it was tennis at its most wonderful, competitive, dramatic and baffling best. Do you know how to spell R-O-A-R!?
But what about that actual quote that Wawrinka has emblazoned on his arm: “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better”?
Not since Janko Tipsaravic’s “Beauty Will Save the World” tattoo has body art so appropriately reflected the moment at hand, the pulse of the game. After all, the two Euro players—throughout 21 agonizing minutes—“ever tried and ever failed,” no matter what. And certainly Wawrinka and Djokovic “tried again.” The epic third game of the fifth set featured a whopping 30 points, thank you very much.
Goodness, some sets are shorter than that. And both of the warriors “failed again” and again. Inexplicably, Djokovic didn’t convert any of his five break points, and eight times Wawrinka faltered when he had game point.
Here were two warriors—legs battered, nerves jangled, spirits battered, but hopes still high—who sensed this was the tipping point. This, surely, was the game for the soul of this match.
After 29 stunning points, Wawrinka sensed the greatness of the moment. If ever there was semifinal theatre at the Open, here it was, a taste of … well, Mr. Beckett, a taste of tennis’ theater of the absurd. And in a moment of spontaneous outreach, the usually contained Swiss Wawrinka gestured to the massive crowd, encouraging the 23,000 souls to let it all out. Djokovic, the game’s foremost showman, soon joined in and prompted the crowd, too.
Queens simply exploded, New York-loud. Even the chair umpire noted the absurdity. He joked, announcing, “The players are NOW ready.” But, just maybe, this was an overreach, for Djokovic lost the next point, and with that, the epic game slipped through his Serbian fingers. Certainly, his loss would be definitive. Wawrinka would now rally and prevail.
But instead this day brought to mind one of the great matches of all time, John McEnroe’s classic 1980 Wimbledon final against Bjorn Borg, where the young American won the battle—prevailing in the most fabled tiebreak in history, a 22-minute, 18-16 fourth-set shocker—before losing in five sets.
Similarly, an exhausted Wawrinka won the battle but lost the war 2-6, 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. There have been many great matches in history. We like the 2008 Nadal-Federer Wimbledon final. There have been great marathons. Nothing beats the Isner-Mahut three-day Wimbledon duel. And there have been many great runs. Our fave is still Jimmy Connors prancing and dancing his way to the 1991 US Open semis. And obviously, there have been many great games in the long history of tennis. The last game of this year’s Wimbledon final—in which Andy Murray finally prevailed in nine sizzling minutes of action to become the first British Wimbledon champion in 77 years—was mighty fine.
But, whether you simply call it “The Game” or “The Big Game,” there has never been a game like the third game of the fifth set of this year’s US Open semis.
Moments after the match, IT asked Djokovic’s longtime coach Marian Vajda about his man’s mettle. “He just showed better guts and a big heart at the end,” Vajda said. “It was very hard to maintain a very high level. Both guys, especially Stan when he was serving, were trying to hit winners early on, but there were a lot of rallies at the end. It took a lot of patience just to get Stan off in his movement. After four hours it was obvious that someone more patient would dominate. Novak did it. That was crucial … He never panicked, he always kept the rallies under his control. Obviously at the end as he increased the pace, finally he could hit the ball in a way that he couldn’t for a couple of sets.”
As for Wawrinka, IT asked him about his Beckett tattoo: “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”
“Yeah,” said the Swiss, “That’s how I see my life in general and my tennis career. After the match in the Australian Open [a fourth-round 5:53 loss to Djokovic], a lot of people were thinking that it was gonna be tough for me to lose that kind of match. But at the end I took all the positives [I could] … and [now] I’m here now playing the semifinal.
Okay, today I lost again, but I’m back in the top 10 and I’m playing my best tennis. So I need to do the same. The only thing that I can see, [is that] everything I’m doing outside the match, on the practice courts … [are] good things and I’m [going] in the right way.
I just need to continue to practice hard and to try to get more victories like I did these two weeks.”
Then we wondered about a curious line from that Beckett quote.. We asked, “What does it mean to fail better?”
Wawrinka replied, “It depends how you see it. But it’s just … go back to practice. It’s simple in tennis … It’s important you go back to work and try to improve.”
And there is nothing at all absurd about that.
NO KIDDING: Stan Wawrinka said, “This is my moment.”
STAN’S SURGE: Wawrinka had a bad summer, with early losses in three tournaments before the Open. But in New York, the Swiss had quality wins over Radek Stepanek, Ivo Karlovic, Marcos Baghdatis, Tomas Berdych, and Andy Murray. What a run.
A CANDID CONFESSION: Rafa’s coach and uncle, Toni Nadal, said that at his age he has nothing to hide and that he does coach from his courtside seats.
IT’S NOT SUPER SATURDAY, BUT IT AIN’T THAT SHABBY: Super Saturday is a thing of the past. Still today—with the two men’s singles semis and the women’s doubles final—wasn’t too shabby.
TORNADO WARNING: American junior Tornado Alicia Black has reached the girls’ junior final. And with a name like that, every tennis writer in the land has got to pray she’ll emerge as a tour regular.
SWEET TWEETS:
Serena Williams: “#Veerena will be back. Thanks guys for support. Love u all.”
Times of London writer Neil Harmon: “Did Rafa just examine that towel to determine which side the label was on before using the opposite [smoother] side on his face?”
The USTA’s Tim Curry: “Will Tokyo 2020 be for Nishikori what London 2012 was to Murray?”
Writer Jane MacManus: “They hugged at the net. I love tennis.”
