Stan Wawrinka draws curtains on standout career in Basel

Basel, October 28 (IANS): Former Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka's illustrious career came to a close at his home tournament, the Swiss Indoors Basel after the 41-year-old Wawrinka fell to eighth seed Jiri Lehecka at the ATP 500 event.

Known for his one-handed backhand, the 41-year-old Swiss won three major titles, notched 590 tour-level victories. Wawrinka ascended to a career-high No. 3 in the ATP Rankings in 2014 and amassed 16 tour-level titles.

He earned his three Slam titles after defeating the then-World No. 1 player in each final. He secured his first major triumph at the 2014 Australian Open, downing Rafael Nadal in the title match. Wawrinka won Roland Garros in 2015 and then the US Open in 2016, beating Novak Djokovic in both finals.

Competing in the ‘Big Three’ era, consisting of Roger Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, Wawrinka finished his career with 590 tour-level match wins. En route to winning his lone ATP Masters 1000 crown in 2014 at Monte-Carlo, Wawrinka defeated countryman Federer in the final.

Notably, Wawrinka and Federer partnered to win the 2008 Beijing Olympics gold medal in men’s doubles. The duo also helped Switzerland win its first Davis Cup title in 2014.

For Wawrinka, however, legacy has never been about how others remember him but about the effort he put into every match and the respect he showed everyone around him.

“It’s not up to me. There are different visions of me as a player over the past 20 years,” Wawrinka told ATPTour.com. For me, all I wanted in my career was to give everything, to have no regrets, to always fight, to always give 100 per cent in every match — out of respect for myself, for the opponent, for the tournament, for the fans, for everybody.

"That was always the most important thing for more than 20 years, and that’s the only way you can leave the sport: without any regrets."