Nadal vs. Wawrinka: Where Australian Open Final Stands Among Grand Slam Upsets

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: January 26, 2014

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By knocking off the top-seeded Rafael Nadal in the 2014 Australian Open final, Stanislas Wawrinka etched his place in tennis folklore by garnering a major upset. 

It's not every day we see a major underdog pull off an upset in a men's tennis Grand Slam. In fact, it's virtually never. Over the past decade, the sport's top stars have held a near monopoly on title victories.

Heading into the final match at Melbourne, Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray had won the last 16 majors. That changed when Wawrinka fended off Nadal in four sets to emerge victorious in his first Grand Slam appearance.



Going back even further, one of those four men (although Murray only accounts for two titles) finished first in 34 of the past 35 Grand Slams. Wawrinka became one of four men outside of that distinct club to win a major since 2004.

With that said, upsets are hardly the norm, so an eighth-seeded player besting the No. 1 star is a David and Goliath tale worth glorifying. Wawrinka represents the lowest-seeded winner since No. 17 Pete Sampras claimed his 14th and final title in the 2002 U.S. Open.



To put Wawrinka's upset into perspective, let's take a look at some other surprising finishes from men's Grand Slam finals.

 

2009 U.S. Open: Juan Martin del Potro (No. 6) Defeats Roger Federer (No. 1)



The most apt comparison to Wawrinka's latest victory is when Juan Martin del Petro broke protocol by fending off Roger Federer to win the 2009 U.S. Open.

Federer was at the top of his game at this point in time. In his seventh straight Grand Slam finals match, the Swiss star had a chance to claim his third consecutive Slam.

Instead, del Potro scooped up his first and only major title in his lone finals appearance. He needed five sets, two of which he won via tiebreaker, to bring home the major upset.

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Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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