20for20 #12: 2014 QF, Wawrinka vs Djokovic

Cabeza del Demonio

Professional
An epic upset that sent shockwaves around the world. Wawrinka and Djokovic played their 3rd 5-setter in a row, but this time the Stanimal would have his revenge at last.
Wawrinka kept the 3-time defending champ on the back foot with relentless groundstrokes to go up 2 sets to 1. But the champion would not go down easily. Djokovic closed out the 4th set with an ace and a roar of triumph, following it up with a break to open the 5th set. With the momentum behind him and the crowd on the edge of their seats, Djokovic sensed the finish line ahead, but Stan would crash the party once again, breaking back immediately and putting them on even footing once again. As the 5th set wore on, the match seemed destined to finish like the previous year's epic.
But if their 2013 battle ended with a bang, this one would end with a whimper as Djokovic missed 2 routine shots at the net to hand Wawrinka his first win over Djokovic, snapping the Serb superstar's 25-match win streak with a 2-6 6-4 6-2 3-6 9-7 upset win and earning its place as the 12th greatest AO match of the century.
This was Djokovic's only loss Down Under between 2010 and 2017. Wawrinka would go on to beat Nadal in the final and claim his maiden Grand Slam crown, catapulting him into the elite circles of tennis.

Enjoy!

In case you missed it, here were my #13-20 picks:
13. 2004 SF, Safin vs Agassi
14. 2006 SF, Baghdatis vs Nalbandian
15. 2008 3R, Kohlschreiber vs Roddick
16. 2013 SF, Murray vs Federer
17. 2012 SF, Djokovic vs Murray
18. 2017 2R, Istomin vs Djokovic
19. 2011 1R, Hewitt vs Nalbandian
20. 2001 SF, Agassi vs Rafter

#11 coming tomorrow! Bonus points to whoever guesses the match :D
 

RaulRamirez

Legend
Great match, and very good summary. I missed the earlier installments, and perhaps, will hazard a guess when you're around #7 or so. So many great AO matches the last 20 years.
 

King No1e

G.O.A.T.
I don't think even Sock would let an opportunity like that slide. Fifth set and down BP? Yeah, I'm gonna do whatever it takes to nail the win.
I don't think most guys would even have the presence of mind to think about whether the call was correct, if they won the point. It's all "next point, next point" in your head at that stage.
 

Third Serve

Talk Tennis Guru
Each of their 5-setters got progressively less and less amazing, from AO13, to USO13, then AO14 and finally the errorfest AO15 match
Eh, I’d say AO 2014 was quite a bit better than USO 2013 (which was still a good match in itself) but I agree.
 
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