Before Stan Wawrinka walked off the court at Melbourne Park for the final time, he wanted to make a toast with Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley first.
Wawrinka, the 40-year-old who received a wild-card invite for the main draw, had just fallen to No. 9-seed Taylor Fritz — 7-6 (5), 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 — in the third round of his final time at the Grand Slam tournament, as he’s set to retire following the 2026 season.
During the middle of an on-court message, Wawrinka said, “If you don’t mind, I’d like to share a beer with Craig.”
Then, he went to grab two beers, and as the pair cracked them, he addressed the crowd.
“Cheers everybody, Wawrinka said, “and thank you so much.”
Wawrinka’s exit means he’ll only have three Grand Slams remaining in a professional career that started in 2002 and has featured 16 titles. He rose to as high as No. 3 in the ATP rankings in 2014 and won three Grand Slams, only missing out on Wimbledon.
He won the Australian Open in 2014, and after victories over Laslo Djere in the first round and Arthur Gea in the second round this year, he became the first man 40 years or older to reach the third round of the Australian Open since Ken Rosewall in 1978, according to the Associated Press.
And on Saturday, Wawrinka managed to take Fritz to a tiebreak in the first set, defeat the highest-seeded American in the second set and still produce shots — such as his vintage backhand winner — that captured his ceiling at the pinnacle of his career.
“Normally we talk on court after a final,” Wawrinka said on the court, according to the AP. “Today is not a final, so I won’t make it too long. Thank you for the wild-card invitation … to have one last chance to say goodbye to the people in Melbourne. It was my last time as a tennis player here, unfortunately. I had so many emotions here the last 20 years. I’m sad to leave, but it’s been an amazing journey.”
Fritz, who advanced to the fourth round, said “it’s amazing what [Wawrinka’s] doing, while Novak Djokovic called him someone who “has inspired me.”
