As a Federer and Nadal fan, I think it was the most important rivalry in tennis history, it grew the sport and heightened interest - you can see with the pundits talk about matches like Wimbledon 2008.
Now most people agree Djokovic is the greatest, very few would argue. But it's quite interesting to look at the matchup with Djokovic and the souped up version of Wawrinka (Stanimal). If the stats below are correct, then in their 9 grand slam matches, Djokovic leads the head to head 5-4. But if we look at the crucial years where the Stanimal version of Wawrinka emerged, lets say from 2013 to 2019, then Wawrinka leads the head to head 4-3 in grand slams.
Dominate might be too strong of a word, but we have to remember Djokovic is considered by most (including me) as the greatest of all time. The fact that Wawrinka was able to beat him so many times in grand slams, is very crucial to this fascinating discussion. I want to discuss what about Wawrinka's game made him so successful against Djokovic? And why couldn't other players replicate it?
Consider their three matches in the Australian Open. Djokovic is the greatest and the Australian is his best surface. It's not quite Nadal on clay, but it's probably next or very close on the list. Each one of their matches went to 5 sets, with Wawrinka winning their 2014 match.
Federer and Nadal spoke about the difficulty in playing against Djokovic. It's the stuff we already know, superb fitness/athleticism and balance, consistent baseline play, best return of serve. Most particularly, how he stands closer to the baseline, hits earlier and changes direction better than anyone in history. Nadal spoke about his matches against Djokovic and said there isn't really a plan to win against him, if you hit to the sides, he puts you in even more trouble.
Which then leads me to ask, what about Wawrinka's game troubled prime Djokovic so much? Wawrinka doesn't appear to be super fast around the court, Djokovic should technically be able to move him around like every other opponent he faced? Wawrinka often returned the serve with a slow slice/chip - which you would think wouldn't be the best idea.
I'm not sure exactly what allowed Wawrinka to have such great success against Djokovic in the baseline rallies. We all know the classic forehand or backhand winners that Wawrinka played but the more interesting analysis is how he was able to get to the positions to hit winners that players like Federer and Nadal just couldn't do often enough against Djokovic. Looking at their matches (prime), it looks like Djokovic is never fully comfortable against Wawrinka's baseline strokes. Djokovic isn't able to change direction like he normally can and it's almost like he's being pushed back. Even in their basic baseline rallies, forehand to forehand, or backhand to backhand, Djokovic isn't able to easily switch it on and dominate like he done with other players.
Why couldn't other players replicate what Wawrinka was doing? Yes Wawrinka's shots look heavy to push Djokovic back, but then he had no problems dealing with Nadal's very potent, heavy and high topspin forehand.
It was a fascinating matchup during the time, and is pretty significant. The three slams Wawrinka won, he had to beat Djokovic each time. Would be interested to hear your thoughts on this.
Djokovic vs. Wawrinka — Grand Slam Matches
| Year | Tournament | Round | Winner | Score |
|---|
| 2012 | US Open | Round of 16 | Djokovic | 6–4, 6–1, 3–1 (Wawrinka retired) |
| 2013 | Australian Open | Round of 16 | Djokovic | 1–6, 7–5, 6–4, 6–7(5), 12–10 |
| 2013 | US Open | Semifinal | Djokovic | 2–6, 7–6(4), 3–6, 6–3, 6–4 |
| 2014 | Australian Open | Quarterfinal | Wawrinka | 2–6, 6–4, 6–2, 3–6, 9–7 |
| 2015 | Australian Open | Semifinal | Djokovic | 7–6(1), 3–6, 6–4, 4–6, 6–0 |
| 2015 | French Open | Final | Wawrinka | 4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 6–4 |
| 2016 | US Open | Final | Wawrinka | 6–7(1), 6–4, 7–5, 6–3 |
| 2019 | US Open | Round of 16 | Wawrinka | 6–4, 7–5, 2–1 (Djokovic retired) |
| 2023 | Wimbledon | Round of 32 | Djokovic | 6–3, 6–1, 7–6(5) |
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