Stan Wawrinka lost a four-set match to Jesper de Jong on Monday, bringing a swift end to the final French Open for the 2015 champion at Roland Garros.
Wawrinka, 41, announced in December that he would retire at the end of 2026. The three-time Grand Slam winner was unable to add to his total of 46 wins at the French Open, falling 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to de Jong on a hot day in Paris.
“It’s hard, I don’t want to say goodbye to you here,” Wawrinka said during a post-match ceremony that included messages from Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, the “Big Three” whom the Swiss staged so many battles with since turning professional in 2002.
“You have been so inspirational to me and for many other players,” Djokovic said. “I’m very honored to call you a friend.”
In the last match of the day, Gael Monfils also had a curtain call in his final appearance at his country’s Grand Slam event. Monfils fired 12 aces but countryman Hugo Gaston took him down in five sets and nearly 3 1/2 hours, 6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 2-6, 6-0.
Like Wawrinka, the 39-year-old Monfils will retire at the end of the year. Retired French tennis greats Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Richard Gasquet and Gilles Simon joined him on the court after the match before he addressed the crowd in French.
“Every year I come to play at Roland Garros I have goosebumps,” Monfils said, per France24. “I’m going to miss you all, thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Fifth-seeded American Ben Shelton began his tournament with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Spain’s Daniel Merida, tying his career high with his eighth clay-court win of the season. Shelton saved the only break point he faced, and advanced to play Belgium’s Raphael Collignon in the second round.
“I think I’m learning more and more every year,” said Shelton, who reached the fourth round last year before falling to eventual champion Alcaraz. “The French crowd always knows how to bring energy, and that’s part of the reason I play so well here.”
Fellow Americans Alex Michelsen and No. 31 seed Brandon Nakashima also advanced in straight sets, while No. 24 seed Tommy Paul rebounded from dropping his opening set to knock off Australia’s Rinky Hijikata in four sets. No. 19 seed Frances Tiafoe also needed four sets to get by fellow American Eliot Spizzirri.
Unranked Jenson Brooksby, Emilio Nava, Aleksander Kovacevic and Marcos Giron each failed to win a set in their openers. Kovacevic managed to win only five games against Spanish 27th seed Rafael Jodar, a 19-year-old rising star who marked his French Open debut by cruising 6-1, 6-0, 6-4.
Jodar, who competed at the University of Virginia, has now won 16 of his past 19 matches including reaching the quarterfinals of the Italian and Madrid Opens after a semifinal run in Barcelona. He is seeded at a Grand Slam for the first time.
“The first matches are always difficult in a tournament,” Jodar said. “I had to serve very well. I tried to play my game during the first two sets, and even when things got a little bit more difficult for me in the third set, I think I played those points especially very well, playing my game.”
Jiri Lehecka was the biggest upset earlier Monday, with the 12th-seeded Czech falling in straight sets to Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta, 6-3, 7-6 (3), 6-3. Norway’s Casper Ruud avoided a similar fate later in the day, with the 15th seed surviving a five-set test against Russian qualifier Roman Safiullin, 6-2, 7-6 (5), 5-7, 0-6, 6-2.
A two-time French Open finalist, Ruud began the tournament as one of the few players viewed to be a potential threat to No. 1 Jannik Sinner.
“I was close to being on the way home,” Ruud said in his on-court interview, adding that he felt “horrible and dizzy” at times due to the heat. “Luckily I was able to give myself some time to breathe in the fourth set, to see if I could calm down and let the high temperature ease off. It was a really tough match.”
Eighth-seeded Alex de Minaur from Australia and Italian 10th seed Flavio Cobolli each advanced in straight sets. No. 11 seed Andrey Rublev of Russia went four sets to eliminate Peru’s Ignacio Buse. Other seeded players who advanced included No. 22 Arthur Rinderknech of France, No. 25 Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina and French 32nd seed Ugo Humbert.
The match of the day was arguably waged between big-serving Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis and Terence Atmane playing in front of his home crowd. The pair of unranked players battled for 4 hours and 18 minutes, with Kokkinakis prevailing 6-7 (5), 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.
Also advancing were Italy’s Matteo Berrettini, France’s Luca Van Assche, Hubert Hurkacz of Poland, Yibing Wu of China and Argentina’s Mariano Navone and Camilo Ugo Carabelli.
–Field Level Media
