Wawrinka Falls to De Jong in Final Roland Garros Match — Bbc Tennis

Stan Wawrinka’s final Roland Garros run ended on Monday with a 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-4 loss to Jesper De Jong, closing the Swiss veteran’s Paris campaign in the first round. tennis marked the match as the last chapter of his French Open appearances, while his retirement date remains set for October’s Swiss Indoors tournament in Basel.

Roland Garros ends for Wawrinka

Wawrinka left the court after four sets, with De Jong taking the first, third and fourth. The second set went to the Swiss player, but he could not turn that swing into a comeback. At 41, he still had one more Grand Slam memory at the venue where his most famous clay-court title came nine years earlier.

That 2015 Roland Garros final is the match Wawrinka pointed to when asked about his career peak. He told Sport at Roland Garros: “It's always tough to choose, but yes, it's there, because it was Roland Garros and it was the final against Djokovic - number one at that time. I believe it was the best of my life,”

Djokovic, Nadal and the title years

The 2015 win came from a set down against Novak Djokovic, just as Wawrinka had handled pressure runs before. In 2014, he won the Australian Open aged 28 after beating Djokovic in a deciding-set quarter-final and then Rafael Nadal in the final.

That Australian Open title carried its own twist. Nadal had hurt his back in the warm-up before the final, and Wawrinka still finished the job. Two years later, he again beat Djokovic from a set down to win the US Open.

Basel still waits

The Paris defeat does not end his career immediately. Wawrinka will not retire until October’s Swiss Indoors tournament in Basel, so his final chapter is still ahead. For now, though, Roland Garros has closed on the stage most closely tied to his name, the place where he says he played the best match of his life.