Murray’s French Open career ended by Wawrinka in first round

Murray, the runner-up at Roland Garros in 2016, lost 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 in his last appearance at the tournament before retiring later this year.

Published : May 27, 2024 08:14 IST , Paris - 2 MINS READ

Stan Wawrinka (L), who has now defeated Andy Murray (R) three times in four meetings in Paris, described his opponent as a “great champion”.
Stan Wawrinka (L), who has now defeated Andy Murray (R) three times in four meetings in Paris, described his opponent as a “great champion”. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
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Stan Wawrinka (L), who has now defeated Andy Murray (R) three times in four meetings in Paris, described his opponent as a “great champion”. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

Andy Murray’s French Open career ended Sunday when he went down to a straight sets first round defeat to 2015 champion and fellow three-time Grand Slam title winner Stan Wawrinka who hailed the Briton as “a great champion”.

Murray, the runner-up at Roland Garros in 2016, lost 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 in his last appearance at the tournament before retiring later this year.

Wawrinka becomes only the third man over the age of 39 to win a match at the French Open since 1980.

Murray, 37, had already announced he plans to retire later in the summer with Wimbledon and the Paris Olympics as the two high-profile events left on his schedule.

On Sunday, he left to a standing ovation from the crowd on Court Philippe Chatrier and Murray returned the gesture by applauding the fans.

Also read | Why Rafael Nadal will not have a farewell ceremony at Roland Garros this year

Wawrinka, who has now defeated Murray three times in four meetings in Paris, described his opponent as a “great champion”.

The Swiss veteran goes on to face either Cameron Norrie of Britain or Russia’s Pavel Kotov for a place in the third round.

“My first words are for a great champion,” Wawrinka told Eurosport courtside after the pair’s 23rd career meeting.

“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.”

He 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.”

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