US Open Takeaways #1: The Big Five

See No. 2 in the count down of the winners and losers, the best or worst or most memorable stories from the 2016 US Open.

1

Finally, we must consider what to do with Stan Wawrinka in our minds and in the sport's short-term history. He now has the same number of major singles titles as "Big Four" member Andy Murray. What we witnessed against Novak Djokovic in the final was more than "Stanimal." It was StaniMAUL. He smacks backhands, especially down the line, that are startlingly beautiful and cruel at the same time.

What's more, his finger-to-temple gesture after winning the third set to go up two to one in this US Open men's final was rather forward and borderline cocky for a star hailing from neutrality-soaked Switzerland.

Some tweeters immediately took to the move, which, let it be known, was by no means as brash as, say, a Lleyton Hewitt "cobra" fist-pump.

Even a certain fellow Swiss star got in on the emphatic-gesture fun.

When it was over, Wawrinka had his way with the US Open field, and he then had his way with the crop of reporters asking pressing and silly questions of him. After all the dramatics of bleeding toe blisters and medical timeouts and back-court firepower, Stan was, at last, a man at rest.

Follow Jon on Twitter @jonscott9.