Stan Wawrinka played his swansong on the tour on Tuesday night at the Swiss Indoors Basel, bringing an end to his glorious career. The Swiss gave his gratitude to everything tennis gave him in his career.
Wawrinka has earlier announced that the ongoing season is his last on the tour. The 41-year-old is a three-time Slam champion, and he won the New York Major in 2016 after beating Novak Djokovic. He is also a gold medallist at the Olympics as he won the double event with Roger Federer in 2008 in Beijing.
“I have always dreamed of being able to finish feeling good, being competitive, and that’s what I was able to do,” Wawrinka said in French during his post-match press conference on Tuesday night. “This year has been amazing with a great amount of emotion, a lot of sadness at every tournament where you say goodbye. But it has been much more beautiful than I could have ever dreamed, than I could have imagined.
“I have received so much love, I have lived through so many emotions in my last year at 41, feeling competitive. I have played top players, I have played young players as well. I have had very good matches. For me, it’s an ideal ending.”
Wawrinka shed light on his career before receiving messages from former rivals such as Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. He also received messages from his parents, who played a key role in his career.
“To have this chance of having a ceremony like the one yesterday, with so much love from the crowd, the fans, the tournament, from all the people who have been there all these years, is not something I could have imagined a few years ago,” Wawrinka said. “And therefore, there are tears; of course, tomorrow there will be a hangover — not just because of the alcohol, not necessarily because of alcohol, but because of the sadness. But when you are an athlete, you know that it happens one day.”
Wawrinka won 16 tour-level titles in his remarkable career.
