Novak Djokovic has been denied the chance to complete a career Grand Slam, having been defeated by Stanislas Wawrinka in this evening's French Open final.
The last four meetings between the pair have each gone the distance, but the Swiss got the job done in four sets at Roland Garros, claiming a 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-4 comeback victory.
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Djokovic edged a tight opener, breaking his world number nine opponent in the seventh game after taking advantage of a couple of wayward shots.
Having earned the first break of serve, the Serbian finally wrapped up the set at the third time of asking to grab an important early foothold in the thrilling affair.
A similarly tight second went the way of Wawrinka, however, with the only break coming in the final game, as Djokovic hooked a backhand wide of the line to gift his opponent a set point which he duly accepted.
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The world number one found himself behind soon after, when Wawrinka took the sixth game of the all-important third set 40-0 before holding his nerve to lead 2-1 in sets.
Djokovic, knowing that his hopes of becoming just the eighth man ever to win each Grand Slam event, started the next set well by racing into a 3-0 lead following some equally sloppy play from the 2014 Australian Open winner.
Wawrinka did brilliantly to continue plugging away, though, and having outlasted his opponent in a mammoth fifth game it was all to play for once again.
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The next three games went the way of serve in the French capital, but eighth seed Wawrinka really upped the pressure on Djokovic by breaking in the ninth to serve for the match.
He did exactly that, once again keeping his cool despite blowing one set point to claim just his second major success, while his opponent - who saw a 28-match winning run come to an end - must now wait at least another 12 months to complete a personal career Grand Slam.
Daniel Lewis
