But he came out tired and lost the next two games, then Djokovic served out the 4-hour, 9-minute match to move into his fourth straight final at the U.S. Open.
``I was thinking, I guess everyone was thinking, that whoever wins this game is going to win the match,'' Djokovic said. ``After he won the game I thought to myself, `OK, I guess I have to fight against those odds.'''
He did, to improve to 20-7 in five-set matches, and now the 2011 champion will go for his second U.S. Open title on Monday against either No. 2 Rafael Nadal or No. 8 Richard Gasquet.
``I managed to find my way through, to adjust, and to win,'' Djokovic said. ``That's what counts.''
His victory will be remembered mostly for a game he lost the third game of the final set, a back-and-forth roller coaster ride in which Djokovic had five opportunities to break for a 2-1 lead and lost them all.
Wawrinka had eight game points. Before the last, he gestured to the crowd to pump up the volume. Sensing the opportunity, Djokovic kidded around, as well. Wawrinka followed that well-deserved break in the action with a 123-mph (198-kph) service winner up the middle.
"It was a really long game with some good points and some big mistakes,'' said Wawrinka, of Switzerland, who made it farther than his country's most famous player, Roger Federer, for the first time in any of his 35 Grand Slam appearances.
"He was quite nervous. I was really tired,'' Wawrinka said. ``I was struggling physically, and it was not easy to keep the level quite high. But, for me, it was just important to fight and not to let him go and not to lose 6-1 or 6-2, but just to try to get every game I can.''
Walking gingerly to his chair afterward, Wawrinka sat down and smiled throughout the break.
A set earlier, he needed a medical timeout to get his right thigh taped. How much longer could he possibly last? Especially against Djokovic, whose road to No. 1 has been highlighted by an improved diet and a focus on fitness that has made him, by almost every account, the most physically prepared player in the game.
"At the end of the first set, I started feeling my right leg,'' Wawrinka said. ``At that moment, I knew I was going to be out of fuel if I had to play a long match. I knew I would struggle physically against him especially against him because he's such a good defender.''
Indeed, Wawrinka's 57 winners 26 from the forehand side weren't enough to get past Djokovic's fast-footed defense.
Wawrinka opened with about as flawless a first set as possible. He broke Djokovic twice over the first 18 minutes, and when he completed the second break with a sizzling crosscourt forehand winner one of seven in that set Djokovic simply glanced across with a look that landed somewhere between bemused and amazed.
Yes, Wawrinka was going to be there all day, and the scene near his changeover chair showed it. By the time the fifth set rolled around, it looked like his living room, strewn with towels, shirts, a warmup jacket and an assortment of rackets, including the mangled remains of one stick he smashed in the fourth set, which drew him a point penalty.
It was that kind of day; the players each won 165 points.
The question now is whether Djokovic can recover for his final in time. He'll have at least one thing in his favor: This year, the U.S. Open broke with its tradition of playing the men's semifinal and final on consecutive days, which gives Djokovic an extra day of rest.
But this was a grind, much like his five-set win over Juan Martin del Potro in the semifinals at Wimbledon in July. He returned two days after that one against Andy Murray and, clearly tired, tried to close out points at the net in what turned out to be a three-set loss.
"Hard court is my most successful surface,'' Djokovic said. ``This is where I can say I feel most comfortable and confident. Hopefully, I can perform better than I did in the Wimbledon final and maybe get a chance to win a trophy.''
-AP
