Wawrinka, whose trademark one-handed backhand helped him put together a 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 victory in the first-round contest Sunday night, May 26, then joined fans in applauding for Murray as he headed toward the locker room.
PARIS — After Stan Wawrinka ended Andy Murray’s stay at the French Open yet again — and this time, it was perhaps Murray’s last singles appearance at Roland Garros — the two long-time opponents, both in their late 30s, met at the net for a handshake, an embrace and a lengthy chat.
Wawrinka, at 39, is just the third man of at least that age to win a match at the clay-court Grand Slam tournament since 1980. Murray just turned 37, and this contest had the second-oldest combined age for two men in Paris since 2000. It was not quite on the level of the Day 2 showcase — Rafael Nadal vs. Alexander Zverev — but it earned the high-profile spot in the night session at Court Philippe Chatrier and drew a crowd that loudly cheered when they stepped out under the lights.
This was his fourth consecutive appearance at the French Open that included a match against Wawrinka, who is 6-1 head-to-head on clay. Wawrinka won their 2015 semifinal in Paris, Murray won a five-set semifinal the next year, and Wawrinka won their first-round contest in 2020. Murray missed the event in 2021-23.
Other major titles champions who won Sunday included Carlos Alcaraz, Naomi Osaka, Sofia Kenin and Jelena Ostapenko. But 2021 French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova lost 7-6 , 6-4 to Viktorija Golubic — making the 24th-seeded Krejcikova 0-3 in Paris since going 7-0 three years ago to take the title.
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