French Open 2024: Stan Wawrinka hails Andy Murray as champion after beating the Briton in first round

Stan Wawrinka ousted Andy Murray from the French Open 2024 when the Swiss beat the Briton in straight sets in the first round at Roland Garros on Sunday. Wawrinka won 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 in a one-sided contest.

Murray, who announced that he will retire at the end of the season, played his last French Open match and Wawrinka hailed the Briton as a ‘great champion.’

The players then shared a special moment at the net after the match, chatting for almost a minute and showing mutual respect for each other before the customary hand shake with the chair umpire.

Wawrinka won in two hours and 19 minutes to record a third consecutive win against Murray on clay. The win was also the Swiss player’s 10th win in their head-to-head, with Murray leading 13-10.

After the match, Murray was given a standing ovation from the crowd on Court Philippe Chatrier and the British tennis player acknowledged with an applause to the fans.

Speaking to the official broadcaster on the courtside after the win, Wawrinka described Murray as a ‘great champion.’ “My first words are for a great champion. I have loved watching Andy play, I 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 is an amazing guy, an amazing player and such a big fighter. We have a lot of respect for each other,” Murray said.

Wawrinka said the win was one of the best for him in the ongoing season. “I think I played my best match of the year. I think I was feeling good. I was moving well. I was playing aggressively. I liked the conditions, and I am super happy with the performance and the level. It is really a positive for me,” he added.

The 39-year-old, who is ranked 98 in the world, applauded the sportive crowd in Paris and said playing in the night session on the Court Philippe Chatrier was a good experience. “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,” he said.

Wawrinka will face either Cameron Norrie of Britain or Russia’s Pavel Kotov in the second round of the French Open 2024.