Stan Wawrinka overcame No. 1 ranked Novak Djokovic at Flushing Meadows on Sunday night to win his first U.S. Open title 6-7(1), 6-4, 7-5 and 6-3.

In a match chock full of great rallies and excellent shot placement at Arthur Ashe Stadium, top-seeded defending champion Djokovic took the first set in a tiebreaker 6-7(1).

Djokovic had gone out to a 2-0 lead, breaking the Swiss player’s serve, but the latter fought his way back with his shots falling well. Ultimately however, the Serb was able to win the last five points of the deciding phase to take the set.

Wawrinka found his rhythm and battled back to win the second set 6-4 after breaking the Serb’s serve for a 3-1 lead halfway through the set and then pushing through to victory.

Although exchanging breaks in the second set and with the contest apparently set to go into another tiebreaker, Wawrinka finally managed to prevail as Djokovic committed several errors.

Wawrinka won the third set 7-5, after trading breaks with his rival. The Swiss player went out to a 2-0 lead before Djokovic managed to bring the set back on serve. However, Wawrinka was able to break the Serb again late in play.

In the fourth set, Djokovic began to experience cramps and was having trouble moving on the court. He requested two medical timeouts to tape his toes, but Wawrinka could not be halted in his drive to winning his first U.S. Open title.

The Swiss player is now three-for-three in major finals, having prevailed over Djokovic at the 2015 French Open and Rafael Nadal at the 2014 Australian Open.

Djokovic had advanced to the U.S. Open final with a 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 victory Friday over Frenchman Gael Monfils in a match that featured occasionally bizarre shifts in momentum and tactics.

Djokovic had prevailed over the Frenchman in two hours and 32 minutes although he called for the trainer to receive treatment on his shoulder during the contest. This was the 29-year-old Serb’s seventh final at this hard-court Grand Slam event and his sixth final in the past seven years.

Wawrinka had advanced to his first U.S. Open final with a come-from-behind 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Japan’s Kei Nishikori.

Djokovic had a career 19-4 edge over Wawrinka, but the two players have been very evenly matched over their past five Grand Slam clashes, with Djokovic winning two contests at the Australian Openand one at the U.S. Open, all in five sets, and Wawrinka defeating the Serbian in five sets in Australia and in four sets in the 2015 French Open final. EFE