Stan Wawrinka broke down in tears and choked on his words after playing at Wimbledon for the final time. The three-time Grand Slam champion, who is set to retire at the end of the season, was beaten by Matteo Berrettini 7-6(7), 6-7 (16), 6-7(7), 6-7(5) on Court 1.
The 41-year-old won every Grand Slam title besides Wimbledon during an era that was dominated by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. And he proved there was still some life in the old dog as he put on a blockbuster performance that went late into the night.
But in the end four tiebreak sets proved too much for the Swiss veteran as he brought the curtain down on his career in south west London.
“I don’t want to retire, but I know it is time for me to stop playing,” Wawrinka said during his on-court interview. “One of the reasons I’ve kept playing for such a long time is to enjoy the moments like tonight. There were so many emotions.
“I’m so grateful to have this opportunity, to receive the wildcard, to have the chance to play one last time at Wimbledon. It is such a special tournament. As a kid, you always dream about maybe being here one day and I had the chance to play here so many times. That kind of support also meant so much to me, so thank you so much for all of these years.”
This season was the 19th that Wawrinka has competed in SW19. He added: “Yes, it wasn’t my first time playing here. I pushed it to my own limit tonight. It was a great fight against Matteo [Berrettini], who is a good friend, a great guy. He deserved to win, so congratulations to him.
“It is never easy to say goodbye to something you love so much. I’ve always been passionate about the game. I’m really grateful for having the chance to play one last time here, I couldn’t have dreamed of a better goodbye so thank you so much for the support.”
Wawrinka began to make his way off the court following his emotional interview and Berrettini sprinted after the legend to pull him back and offer him a gift.
“He’s a legend. He showed it today. Unbelievable player. Unbelievable competitor,” Berretini said.
“I remember in 2014 I was playing the juniors here. I snuck in on Centre Court and he was playing against Roger [Federer]. I had the big honor to play against him here, Court 1. I feel so honored. That’s why I ran after him. I wanted to give him the last towel that he played here.”