Stan Wawrinka did not get the fairy-tale win, but Basel gave him a send-off fit for a man with three major trophies. On Tuesday night the 41-year-old stepped on court as a professional for the final time, losing his opening-round match at the Swiss Indoors in straight sets, 7-5 and then a second-set tiebreak, to Jiří Lehečka of the Czech Republic, ranked 21st. He had picked this home event as his finale long ago.
The arena treated every Wawrinka point as if it were match point. He served up all the old trademarks: the one-handed backhand ripped along the sideline, a finger tapped to his temple, the roars of “Allez!” and the arms waving for more noise. Lehečka broke in the 11th game, closed out the opener with an ace and then pulled clear in the tiebreak. Afterwards Wawrinka circled the arena to thank the stands as his family and team wiped away tears.
Speaking to the tour’s website, Wawrinka said his goal for more than two decades was to fight for every ball and walk away with “no regrets”, which he called the only proper way to leave. Lehečka admitted it felt “a little bit weird” to spoil such a moment, adding that he would never forget the night.
The numbers behind the farewell are remarkable given the era he played in. Wawrinka was a late bloomer who only claimed his first major at 28, beating Rafael Nadal in the 2014 Australian Open final. A year later in Paris he blew Novak Djokovic away in the title match, and in New York in 2016 the Serb was once more his victim on the final Sunday. Add a Davis Cup triumph and a 2008 Olympic doubles gold, both won alongside Roger Federer. Djokovic, never shy of praise for an old rival, called him a “legend”.
Fans still have one more date in the diary: on 19 December Wawrinka hosts a farewell exhibition in Geneva, and both Federer and Andy Murray are expected to take part.
