Stan Wawrinka ended his 14th and final appearance at the Swiss Open in Gstaad with a first-round loss to Jaime Faria. The 41-year-old received a custom pair of skis as a tribute from tournament organizers.
Wawrinka fell to the 22-year-old Portuguese player 6-7(8), 6-4, 6-4 after saving three set points in the opening tie-break. The match lasted two hours and 37 minutes. Faria won 81 percent of his first-serve points and converted both break opportunities.
After the match, Faria pointed toward Wawrinka to direct applause to the Swiss player. In his on-court interview, Faria said he was sorry to spoil the party and called it an honour to share the court with Wawrinka. He later posted on Instagram that he grew up watching Wawrinka play.
Tournament organizers presented Wawrinka with skis featuring the geometric print from his 2015 Roland Garros shorts. Wawrinka joked that he looked forward to using them for the first time in 20 years. His professional career will conclude at the Swiss Indoors in Basel from October 24 to November 1, with a planned farewell event on October 26 that includes Roger Federer.
