Paris, France—Andy Murray’s French Open career ended on Sunday with a straight-sets first-round defeat to 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka, who praised the Briton as “a great champion”. Murray, the 2016 runner-up at Roland Garros, lost 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 in what is his last appearance at the tournament before his planned retirement later this year.
Wawrinka, who is now among the rare players over the age of 39 to win a match at the French Open since 1980, moves on to face either Cameron Norrie of Britain or Russia’s Pavel Kotov for a place in the third round.
Murray, 37, had previously announced that he intends to retire later this summer, with Wimbledon and the Paris Olympics being his final high-profile events. On Sunday, he left to a standing ovation from the crowd on Court Philippe Chatrier, returning the gesture by applauding the fans.
The Swiss veteran Wawrinka, who has now defeated Murray three times in four meetings at Roland Garros, expressed his admiration for his long-time rival. “My first words are for a great champion,” Wawrinka said in a courtside interview with Eurosport. “I have loved watching Andy play, loved fighting against him. We’ve had a lot of fights over the last 15 years. We are not very young, so we did all we could and remember all these moments.”
Wawrinka added, “I love to work in front of a crowd like this. I’ve shared a lot of emotion with this crowd and they gave me a lot of energy to fight. In my head, I’m still a young guy, still a kid.”
Despite his defeat, Murray received a heartfelt send-off, underscoring the respect and admiration he commands in the tennis world.
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