Ten years on: Wawrinka shows his style

From the 60 winners Wawrinka fired in that match, to the famous Yonex plaid shorts he was wearing, to the extended standing ovation Djokovic received from the Philippe-Chatrier crowd – everything about that four-set affair was iconic.

Djokovic fought back tears as the fans applauded him for three continuous minutes that day. A decade on, he’s able to laugh looking back on that tournament.

“We still joke around saying that the reason why he played so well is because of the shorts,” Djokovic told reporters in Madrid last month.

“I don't know how many of you remember those famous shorts that he was wearing, and he came up to the post-finals press conference with those shorts and I really hated him since then,” the Serb added with a laugh.

Those Yonex shorts, featuring a red, white, and grey checkered pattern, garnered as much attention as Wawrinka’s stunning run that fortnight. They were mocked relentlessly by pundits, who described it as pyjama-looking, and are now enshrined in the Roland-Garros Museum.

Wawrinka had the last laugh, and when he walked into the press conference room after his 4‑6, 6‑4, 6‑3, 6‑4 win over Djokovic, he was carrying a pair of the shorts and draped them on the dais in front of him.

“I enjoy it, the shorts. Apparently, I’m the only one...It’s quite funny that [they] won the French Open,” said Wawrinka with a smile.

Djokovic entered the final searching for a maiden crown at Roland-Garros – the only Slam that had eluded him thus far. He had lost his first two finals at the tournament, both against Rafael Nadal, in 2012 and 2014, and was 0-6 overall against the Spanish legend on Paris’ terre battue entering Roland-Garros in 2015.

So when Djokovic finally bested Nadal in the quarter-finals en route to another championship match, it felt like the stars had finally aligned for the then world No.1 to triumph in the French capital.

He was carrying a 28-match winning streak heading into the clash with Wawrinka, who was gunning for a second major trophy, after claiming the Australian Open title the previous year.

The pair are good friends and at the time, they were practising together almost every week.

Djokovic was leading their head-to-head 17-3 and was heavily favoured to take the win.

But Wawrinka was having an eye-catching tournament himself, having knocked out a second-seeded Roger Federer in the quarter-finals and a 15th-ranked Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the semis.

The very first game of the final featured a 39-shot rally that set the tone for what was to come. Wawrinka won that point, perhaps sending a signal he was ready to outlast his unrelenting opponent.

The Swiss dropped a close opening set, before taking his game to superhuman levels. Peppering Djokovic with overpowering backhands unleashed from all corners of the court, Wawrinka put on a display he himself did not expect.

“I'm still surprised the way I played, because I think I played amazing today,” he said after the match. 

“I was really nervous, but I didn't really choke. I was always going for my shot, always going for the right play. I'm really happy with the trophy tonight.”

‘Always’ is the key word here. Wawrinka never let up and it remains one of the most memorable peak performances ever witnessed on the courts at Porte d’Auteuil.

“Wow, just wow, I wanna play like that!” tweeted Serena Williams during the match.

In a video recently posted by the UTS exhibition league on YouTube, two-time Roland-Garros finalist Casper Ruud said: “It was close to playing perfect tennis, that match. I’m not sure if he [Wawrinka] can play any better. He was hitting like winners around the net and everything.”

That was the only match Djokovic lost at the majors in 2015, and it prevented him from becoming the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to complete the calendar-year Grand Slam.

“It was one of the toughest losses for me because by that time, I still haven't won Roland Garros, and that was, I don't know which final for me already. And I thought, I'm not playing Rafa for a change in the finals, and I liked my chances to win my first French Open title. But then Stan stole it from me, and he played some incredible tennis,” said Djokovic last month.

That day, a 30-year-old Wawrinka became the oldest Roland-Garros men’s singles champion since Andres Gomez in 1990.

He added a third major to his resume a year later at the US Open – also defeating Djokovic – and at 40 years of age, is still pushing himself and competing on tour.

“I think he's very underestimated in the discussions. He's won gold medal Olympics, he's won three Grand Slams, and, yeah, just an amazing career,” said Djokovic of the Lausanne native.

“He's 40 years old, with God knows how many surgeries on the knees and everything, and he's still pushing, still coming in, still coming in early in the tournament. Showing up, one of the first people that shows up in the club, and practises early, and does everything that he needs to do, even more. So that's super impressive.”

In Paris this year, Wawrinka wore a white and red Yonex kit that had a subtle nod to his 2015 heroics. On the placket under the buttons of his shirt, there was a strip of plaid fabric. That print, and the player rocking it, will never be forgotten.