Stan Wawrinka played his last-ever match at Roland Garros yesterday, in what was an unsurprisingly emotional affair.
The Swiss superstar has dazzled fans for over two decades now, with one of his greatest moments on the court coming at this event.
His 2015 title remains one of the most memorable in recent history, and although his powers have naturally waned since then, he remains as celebrated as ever.
In fact, Stan Wawrinka was actually asked whether he’d been surprised by the level of support he’d received not only from the Parisian crowd, but from his fellow players, both young and old.
Unsurprisingly, the 41-year-old was typically gracious when trying to rationalise this backing.
Stan Wawrinka’s message to the Roland Garros crowd after his final match
Discussing the reception he received after his match on Court Simonne-Mathieu, he told reporters: “Yeah, it was amazing.
“More than what I could expect, finishing with so much support, so much love from the people. It was exactly the reason why I kept playing for so long.”
Stan Wawrinka is OUT of Roland Garros… where does he rank amongst the all-time greats? 🐐
Then, asked if he’s been surprised by the support given from both the fans and his fellow competitors, Wawrinka added: “Of course. I’m always surprised, like I said, to receive so much love, so much support from all the players, or from the fans or from tournaments in general, of course.
“But you know, I’ve been on tour for more than 20 years. For me, when I was young, my dream was to be a tennis player, a professional tennis player, to be in the top 100, to have an opportunity to play the tournaments, but I never expected to achieve so big in tennis. I never put any limit on my career.
“I always wanted more; I walk out to get more, push myself, push my own limit, and try to find my own way to get there. So I’m happy and proud of what I achieved all those years, of course.
“Today was really tough. It’s never easy to say goodbye to something you love so much, and you dedicate all your life to it, so of course it was, and it will be difficult to leave Roland Garros.”
Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer sent messages to Wawrinka after his final match at Roland Garros, congratulating him on a sensational career.
Gael Monfils surpassed Stan Wawrinka at Roland Garros in his last-ever match
Wawrinka was not alone in yesterday being his last-ever match at Roland Garros, as Gael Monfils also lost in the first round later that day.
However, in typical Monfils fashion, he departed by snatching a record from his fellow legend who will also retire at the end of this year.
Gael Monfils has played his final match at Roland Garros… but what will you remember most about this great showman? 🪄
After all, before yesterday, Wawrinka was tied with the Frenchman for most five-set matches played at the French Open.
But, with Monfils fighting back from two sets to love down to level the match, he surpassed him, with it marking his 17th five-set match in Paris. Sadly, he lost 6-0 in that deciding set.
