MELBOURNE (AP):

For the man nicknamed 'Stanimal', this was not the way for defending champion Stan Wawrinka to go out of the Australian Open - with a whimper, not a roar.

It was the third straight year Wawrinka and Djokovic played a five-set match at Melbourne Park, but unlike their previous two encounters, which lasted a combined nine hours and featured exceedingly close fifth sets, this one ended with a thud.

The Swiss player couldn't offer any resistance in the critical fifth set yesterday, falling 7-6 (1), 3-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-0.

It was a 'stanemic' performance. Even Wawrinka was at a loss for words.

Wawrinka only dropped one set on his way to the semis, against Spaniard Guillermo García-López -López in the fourth round, and easily beat the most dangerous player in his part of the draw, rising Japanese star Kei Nishikori.

Coming into the semi-final against Djokovic, he was starting to resemble the player who stunned the Serb last year in the quarter-finals - his first win over Djokovic in the last 15 matches - and then went on to beat number one, Rafael Nadal in the final.

In yesterday's semi-final, though, Wawrinka seemed to lack intensity on the big points and shanked way too many erratic shots. He had 69 unforced errors, and in the final set, he didn't win a single point on his second serve.

He fell to 1-17 against top-ranked players, his only win coming against Nadal last year.