Stan Wawrinka may be on his farewell tour, but he’s showing no interest in merely soaking up applause and plaudits.
The Swiss star, the 2014 champion in Melbourne, was defeated in four sets by ninth seed Taylor Fritz, but his run to the third round was lit up by moments of pure magic, none more so than when he unleashed his beautiful whip-like single-handed backhand.
Time and injuries have certainly caught up with him, but the stamina he showed across his three matches, something many doubted he still possessed over five sets, suggests he may yet produce a surprise or two during his final months on tour.
After a tribute video was played following his defeat, an emotional Wawrinka addressed the crowd and tournament director Craig Tiley.
“It was a lot of emotion when you called me to give me this opportunity to have one last chance to say goodbye to to the people here in Melbourne.
“I had so many so many emotions here the last 20 years because of you guys. It’s been an amazing journey. I won my first grand slam here. I always enjoy being back, always had so much support and the reason why I was still playing – it’s because of you – because of the love of the game, the emotion you you can give me. I’m sad to leave but it’s been amazing journey.”
To the delight of the crowd the popular Swiss then produced two tins of beer from his cooler to toast his final appearance in Melbourne.
“I saw you supporting us. I saw you drinking. The other day I told you about it and now I can enjoy. So if you don’t mind I would like to share a beer with Craig. Cheers everybody, and thank you so much.”
In the press conference afterwards, he underlined that he is still on tour to compete, despite the party atmosphere on court.
“Yeah, a lot of fun, that’s for sure. My mindset was what I have been saying, like, I’m not doing the year to say good-bye, in tournaments just to say good-bye. I’m doing the year, it’s my last year, so of course when I lose in the tournament, it’s going to be a good-bye for this tournament, but my mindset is still a competitor and I always want to push myself.”
He finished by outlining his post-tournament recovery plans and his next stops on tour.
“I’m supposed to play, and have a wildcard for Montpellier, Rotterdam in Europe, and probably Dubai as well. I’m super happy and grateful for the opportunity to play those tournaments.
“For sure going to rest a bit the body. I need to see also how it’s going to be the next few days, because of course I’m not as fresh as I would like to, but yeah, I’m looking forward for the next tournaments.”
