ATP Tour

Wawrinka says goodbye to Roland Garros: 'I feel at home'

Stan Wawrinka brought the curtain down on his Roland Garros journey Monday, when he fell to Jesper de Jong in the opening round.

Competing on Court Simonne-Mathieu, the atmosphere felt less like a farewell and more like a celebration of the 2015 champion. The stands were packed and every winner from the Swiss legend’s racquet was greeted with rousing applause. Following his defeat, the former World No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings admitted the crowd's love has kept him going all these years.

“It was amazing,” Wawrinka shared. “More than what I could have expected and what I could [have done], finishing with so much support, so much love from the people. It was exactly the reason why I kept playing for so long.”

Even in defeat, Wawrinka was treated like a winner by the people in Paris, who savoured each moment of his final appearance, making 'Stan the Man' feel like he was one of their own.

“Even though I was always supported, I always had this good feeling with the crowd," Wawrinka said. "[Especially] between 2014, 2015, 2016, that is when there was this connection with the French crowd.

"If I look at what happened today and when I hear what the crowd is doing, trying to support me, encourage me, I feel at home. It's an exceptional feeling, and therefore, at the age of 41, I made this effort to still play, because these emotions are the truest ones. Those are the emotions I prefer as a tennis player. This is always what's motivated me.”

Saying goodbye was never going to be easy, Wawrinka admitted, as he soaked in the final memories of a place where he produced some of his best results, most notably his triumph in 2015 and a run to the championship match in 2017. Yet he departs Roland Garros not in regret, but with pride, happy with what he achieved at the clay major and the legacy he leaves behind.

“When I was young, my dream was to be a professional tennis player, to be in the Top 100, to have the opportunity to play those tournaments," Wawrinka said. "But I never expected to achieve so much. I never put any limit on my career. I always wanted more. I always walk out to get more, push myself, push my own limits, and try to find my own way to get there.

“I'm happy and proud of what I achieved all those years, of course. Today it was really tough. It's never easy to say goodbye to something you love so much, and you dedicate all your life to it and it will be difficult to leave Roland Garros.”

The 41-year-old closes his Roland Garros chapter with a 46-20 tournament record, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, and having faced all members of the 'Big 4' on the Paris clay. That included three wins against Andy Murray, and one victory each against Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. Yet Wawrinka said he never measured his career by records but by the drive to keep improving and testing himself against the very best.

"I never saw myself thinking about trying to make history in tennis or trying to reach a certain level to win Slams," Wawrinka said. "For me, it was always about myself, how can I be a better tennis player, how can I push myself, how can I push my own limits, how can I start to beat the Big 4? Because we needed to beat them to win the biggest tournaments."