US Open 2016 Review

This year’s US Open has finally wrapped up, with Stan Wawrinka beating the world number one Novak Djokovic to collect his third Grand Slam title.

The win comes after the Swiss triumphed at the French Open last year and the Australian Open in 2014. Novak Djokovic battled through a toe blister in the final set but could not do enough, eventually going down 6-7 (1-7) 6-4 7-5 6-3.

Djokovic will now be going back to the drawing board after a disappointing few months, where he showed poor form at both Wimbledon and the Olympics and battled through injuries.

Angelique Kerber cements world number one spot

Angelique Kerber had a fantastic tournament, beating a resilient Karolina Pliskova 6-3 4-6 6-4 to win the US Open’s women’s title and earn her status as world number one after Serena Williams’ period of dominance.

Pliskova proved to be a really tough opponent on an extremely humid afternoon at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City. The 28-year-old started the year defeating Serena Williams at the Australian Open, making it two grand slams for the year.

After disappointment in the final of Wimbledon when Williams came home with the win, Kerber will be happy with landing the last major of the year.

Who else stood out?

While Wawrinka eventually came out on top, a few other stars emerged during the course of the tournament. Kei Nishikori came up with arguably the biggest upset, beating Wimbledon champion Andy Murray in the quarter-finals.

Nishikori has been steadily improving over recent years and, at age 26, is stepping up his game, becoming number five in the world. Despite his form, a victory over Murray was certainly unexpected.

Karolina Pliskova is another competitor who had a great tournament, reaching the final and moving to number 6 in the world from number 11 after a series of gutsy performances.

What’s next for Wawrinka and Kerber?

As the oldest male US Open champion since Ken Rosewall in 1970, many people may view the victory as a fitting bookend to the end of a successful career, but Stan Wawrinka will be looking to continue his form into next season.

The 31-year-old will now head to the ATP World Tour Finals in November, where he will be looking to cap off a landmark year and prepare for the Australian Open in 2017. Currently ranked number three in the world, Wawrinka will be looking to put further pressure on world number one Djokovic and number two, Andy Murray.

On the other hand, Kerber looks set to battle with Serena Williams and further establish herself as the best in the world. Williams triumphed at Wimbledon but was unable to pick up any other grand slams as she moves closer to Steffi Graff’s record of 22 major titles.

Overall, the 2017 season is lined up to be an exciting one!