Lehecka wins in straight sets as Wawrinka plays his final tour match in Basel
The 41-year-old Swiss, a three-time Grand Slam champion, lost in the first round of the Swiss Indoors and said goodbye to a crowd on its feet.
Stan Wawrinka played his last official match on Tuesday evening. At the Swiss Indoors in Basel, where he had received a wildcard, the 41-year-old Swiss lost in the first round 7-5, 7-6 (7-2) to Czech eighth seed Jiří Lehecka, Sporza reports. According to the ATP, it was his nineteenth and final appearance at the tournament.
After a standing ovation lasting several minutes, a tearful Wawrinka said it is very hard to say goodbye to a sport he loves, Sporza writes. He finished with a lap of honour for his home crowd. On Monday he had already been honoured with a large tribute at St. Jakobshalle, and on Sunday he attended an FC Basel match, the ATP says.
Wawrinka won three Grand Slam titles: the Australian Open in 2014, Roland Garros in 2015 and the US Open in 2016. He collected sixteen titles in all, reached world number three in 2014 and won Olympic doubles gold with Roger Federer in 2008. He is not quite done yet: on 19 December a farewell evening in Geneva will feature Federer, Andy Murray and Gaël Monfils, Radio Lac reported, citing the ATS news agency.