Novak Djokovic topples Stanislas Wawrinka after five-set epic in New York

Novak Djokovic twice had to come from a set down to see off Stanislas Wawrinka 2-6 7-6 (7/4) 3-6 6-3 6-4 and reach the final of the US Open for the fourth successive year. The Serbian was pushed to the limits by the ninth seed in a titanic battle on Arthur Ashe that included one game that lasted 21 minutes. "I was so fortunate to play my best tennis when I needed to." Novak Djokovic Wawrinka, who had knocked out reigning champion Andy Murray to reach the last four, took the opening set 6-2 and despite letting slip a lead in a second that was eventually lost on a tie-break, recovered to move ahead again. Crucially, though, the Swiss was unable to put the top seed away, with Djokovic taking the fourth set 6-3 and then gaining a crucial break in the decider. "These matches are what we live for, what we practise for," said the 12-time grand slam finalist after a match that lasted four hours and nine minutes. "It was obvious that Stan played more aggressive, he played better tennis. I was trying to hang in there, trying to adjust. I had to run a lot, I wasn't playing as well as I wanted but all the credit to him for playing so well. "I was so fortunate to play my best tennis when I needed to." Early onslaught,/h4> Djokovic is well known for his physical powers of recovery but also had to show tremendous mental strength to survive an early onslaught from Wawrinka.