Former world No 3 Stan Wawrinka ends career in home match defeat in Basel

What the report says

Stan Wawrinka has ended his professional tennis career after a first-round loss at the Basel Open in Switzerland, according to Al Jazeera’s report on the ATP 500 event. The 41-year-old Swiss player fell 7-5, 7-6 (7/2) to Czech opponent Jiri Lehecka, closing out a 24-year career on home soil. Wawrinka had already said earlier this season that Basel would be his final tournament as a professional.

Al Jazeera notes that Wawrinka was one of the few players in the Federer-Nadal-Djokovic era to win multiple Grand Slam titles. He captured the Australian Open in 2014, the French Open in 2015 and the US Open in 2016. He also helped Switzerland win the Davis Cup and won Olympic doubles gold with Roger Federer at the 2008 Beijing Games.

In Basel, the home crowd responded strongly to Wawrinka’s shot-making, including his trademark one-handed backhand, and he received a farewell ceremony before the match. After the defeat, he made a lap of the court to thank fans. Lehecka said afterward that it was unusual but special to share the moment with a player of Wawrinka’s stature.

The report also says Wawrinka plans a further farewell event in Geneva in December, where Federer and Andy Murray are expected to take part, offering fans one more chance to mark his retirement.