ATP Tour

Wawrinka’s emotional goodbye note to US Open: ‘Forever grateful. Forever New York’

Stan Wawrinka is not competing at the US Open in his final season on the ATP Tour, but that has not stopped the Swiss star from taking the time to pen a moving farewell note to the hard-court major in New York.

Writing on Instagram, Wawrinka acknowledged the role of the US Open in his glittering career. The former No. 3 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, who will retire this season, won his third and final major at Flushing Meadows in 2016, when he memorably downed then-World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in a four-set championship match. Since his US Open debut in 2005, Wawrinka has racked up a 46-16 record at the event.

“When I first arrived in New York from a small farming village in Switzerland, everything felt too big,” Wawrinka wrote. “The city. The noise. The energy. The crowds. The lights. But year after year New York slowly became one of my favorite places in the world. This city challenged me. It pushed me. It brought something out of me that few places ever could.

“I experienced some of the strongest emotions of my career here. The battles, the late nights, the incredible atmosphere, the love from the crowd…memories that will stay with me forever.”

Wawrinka reached the US Open semi-finals in 2013 (l. to Djokovic) and 2015 (l. to Federer), but it is his 2016 run to the trophy that will be most fans’ abiding memory of the Swiss in New York. Showcasing the best of his brutal baseline hitting off both wings, Wawrinka capped his run by powering to four-set victories against Juan Martin del Potro, Kei Nishikori and Djokovic.

“Winning the US Open, in the city that never sleeps, will forever be one of the greatest moments of my life,” the 41-year-old wrote. “Thank you, New York. Thank you, US Open. Thank you to every single fan who supported me, pushed me, believed in me and shared all these emotions with me over the years.

“Forever grateful. Forever New York.”