Wawrinka battles Djokovic in US Open final

When Stan Wawrinka won his first major title at the 2014 Australian Open against an injury hampered Rafael Nadal to become the oldest first-time grand slam champion in 13 years, it might have been written off as a fluke.

When he backed it up at last year’s French Open, the veteran baseliner’s place among the finest big-match players of his generation was beyond dispute.

Now the 31-year-old will play for a third grand slam title in as many years after seeing off Japan’s Kei Nishikori in a gripping US Open semi-final on Friday night and it seems the sky is the limit.

He advances to face top seed Novak Djokovic, who saw off Gaël Monfils in the afternoon match. Should he topple the world No1 on Sunday afternoon in the latest installment of one of the sport’s most reliably entertaining rivalries, the late-blooming Swiss will become the fifth man in the Open era and the first since Andre Agassi to win more than one major title after his 30th birthday.

The No3 seed, who saved match point with a forehand volley winner against Britain’s Dan Evans in the third round, has spent more time on court than anyone at this year’s US Open.

But he somehow managed to elevate his level as his opponent wilted on Friday, fighting back for a 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-2 win in a match that began amid sweltering humidity and ended beneath the retracted roof of Arthur Ashe Stadium.

“I know I have some up and down during the year,” said Wawrinka, who will look to extend a 10-match winning streak in finals that includes his breakthrough titles in Melbourne and Paris. “I’m not playing my best tennis in every tournament, but I’m trying to work as hard as I can to give me the chance to play well every time I step on the court.

And in grand slams is where I want to play my best tennis. Is where I want to be the better player. Always find a way to find my game and to put everything together.”

The exquisite variety of Nishikori, who had rallied from a two-sets-to-one deficit to defeat Andy Murray in their Wednesday quarter-final, was on full display in the first set as the 26-year-old flummoxed Wawrinka with an unpredictable blend of flat groundstrokes that exploded off the strings and off-pace shots, varying topspin and slice within the points.

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