'5 minutes before facing Novak Djokovic at USO 2016, I started to cry'

Novak Djokovic has dominated the ATP tour over the last decade, having won a mammoth 17 Grand Slams through his nerveless tennis. So it makes sense that any player going up against him would feel a great deal of fear and anxiety - even if that player is the usually fearless Stan Wawrinka.

Novak Djokovic is easily one of the toughest players ever to face in a Slam final, along with his Big 3 peers Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. And while Stan Wawrinka had beaten the Serb in the 2015 Roland Garros final, he was under no illusions about the enormity of the task when he got ready to face Djokovic in a hardcourt Slam final - at the 2016 US Open.

Recently, Stan Wawrinka spoke to French magazine L'Illustre in detail about what it means to face Novak Djokovic, and how he managed to get the better of the Serb at the 2016 US Open.

At 31 years old, I thought it was my final opportunity to win a Slam: Stan Wawrinka

Asked whether he felt nervous on the eve of the 2016 US Open final against Novak Djokovic, Wawrinka said:

"Yes, I did. I was 31, I thought it might be my last opportunity for a Grand Slam. The practice before the final went wrong. There was a lot of wind, I was tense and in a bad mood."

Despite having already won two Slams by that point, the Swiss developed cold feet that day in New York. By his own admission, Wawrinka isolated himself from his team in the time between the practice and the pre-match interview ahead of the final.

The prospect of facing the 17-time Grand Slam champion were threatening to get the better of Wawrinka, and his nerves were thoroughly evident.

Stan Wawrinka explains his master-plan that helped him beat Novak Djokovic

Those who have faced Novak Djokovic would know how difficult it is to beat the World No. 1, especially when the stakes are high. Novak Djokovic suffocates his opponents with his robotic style of play, making them want to pull their hair out in frustration, before finishing them off with his precise shotmaking.

Having gone up against Novak Djokovic repeatedly during his career, the Swiss knew he had to bring out his most determined self to challenge the Serb. And that realization made him suffer a painful meltdown minutes before the match.

"Five minutes before entering the central office, I suddenly felt really bad, extremely nervous. I started to cry. I even had to go throw up a bit. Magnus (his coach) came to speak to me and I pulled myself together just before finding Novak Djokovic in the hall for the pre-match interview," Wawrinka recalled.

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— Stanislas Wawrinka (@stanwawrinka) September 12, 2016

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Asked how he managed to start the match despite having been so nervous, Stan Wawrinka replied:

"I still was not feeling very good. In the first set, Novak Djokovic led 4-1, break point for him. I end up winning the game and there, I decide to tire myself physically to relieve my stress. I extend the duration of the exchanges, even if it means losing them."

In other words, Stan Wawrinka tried to physically extract the stress out of his body, by pushing himself to exhaustion. It sounds like a strange ploy in theory, but on that day it worked like a charm.

"I start to run from right to left, and little by little I feel that fatigue prevails over the mind, which forces me to focus on physical and tennis. It was gone. I didn't know at the time if I was going to win the match, but I knew I would fight to the end. And I won," Wawrinka added.