The naysayers will be out.\u00a0 They always are when the underdog rises from the ashes to claim victory over the anointed one, or two, even three.\u00a0 That was the case this past fortnight in Flushing, NY as Switzerland\u2019s number two star, Stanislas Wawrinka, the third seed, disposed of the world number one, Novak Djokovic in 4 gruelling sets Sunday night.\u00a0 Two and three, well that of course would be Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.\u00a0 In case you have been resting under a comfortable slab of concrete of late, we are in the golden era of men\u2019s tennis to be sure.\u00a0 Three absolute legends that rate amongst the all time best players to ever lace up some Stan Smith\u2019s and they have come in stunning succession, one after the other, after the other.<\/p>\n
What Wawrinka pulled off with his 3 and a half hour epic victory over Djokovic will truly one day be the stuff of lore.\u00a0 He is now undefeated in major event finals at 3-0 and almost ridiculously, has won the last 11 finals he has appeared in.\u00a0 He is of course, not an all time legend, capturing his first U.S Open title to go along with a French title last year and an Australian Open banner in 2014.\u00a0 But he has proven to be a big money player who rises to the occasion and seizes moments that only his countryman seemed to aspire to until the past three years.\u00a0 A late bloomer by all accounts, Wawrinka is only now reaching the apex of his tennis career at the ripe old age of 31.\u00a0 His four set win (6-7 (1) 6-4, 7-5, 6-3) was the penultimate finish to a streak player who peaked at the exact right time over the 2 weeks in the Big Apple.<\/p>\n