Stan Wawrinka reflects on his final Monte Carlo Masters appearance

Stan Wawrinka’s journey at the Monte Carlo Masters has come to a close.

The Swiss veteran, who first played in the tournament back in 2006, fell behind early against Sebastián Báez, trailing 5-7, 1-5 before mounting a late rally.

Wawrinka managed to break Báez twice to level the second set at 5-5, showing flashes of his old form.

But despite the comeback attempt, he couldn’t turn it around, losing the second set 5-7.

This marks Wawrinka’s final appearance at Monte Carlo before he retires later this year. The three-time Grand Slam champion took time after the match to reflect on his career and express gratitude to tennis fans for their support over the years.

Wawrinka reflects on final Monte Carlo appearance

“I will remember that at 41 I was still playing on that court,” Wawrinka said after the match, as broadcast by Sky Sports. “But I really pushed myself. My dream was to be a professional tennis player.

“So to play in the main draw of those tournaments – I had the chance to win some. But my goal was always to push myself to the limit. That’s what I still try to do, still try to keep going.

“Passionate about the sport since day one, always been a dream to be a tennis player.

“I’ve been enjoying that role for more than 20 years and again, as I said before, one of the best emotion I have on the court is because of the support, because of everybody still pushing me when I’m 5-1 down and that’s really always been helping me, putting fire on myself to keep going.”

The loss also meant Wawrinka missed out on a hoped-for meeting with Carlos Alcaraz — one he’d mentioned looking forward to before stepping away from tennis.

A look back at Stan Wawrinka’s path to his 2014 Monte Carlo Masters title

Seeded third at the event, he started off with a win over Marin Cilic before moving past Nicolas Almagro via walkover and then defeating Milos Raonic.

The semi-finals saw him face David Ferrer, whom he overcame 6-1, 7-6 (7-3), setting up an all-Swiss final against Roger Federer. After dropping the first set in the final and trailing by two breaks in the second set, Wawrinka fought back fiercely. He eventually turned things around completely for a 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 victory over Federer.

After claiming victory in Monte Carlo with an impressive comeback against Federer in three sets during their only meeting at this event. In fact their sole meeting outside Wimbledon between January 2013 and November 2015 occurred here.

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