Andy Murray comfortably beaten in straight sets by old foe Stan Wawrinka in last ever French Open match
ANDY MURRAY might be tempted to chuck his new racquets in the bin after his French Open singles finale ended in failure.
Muzza, 37, chose a different brand of equipment for this farewell appearance on French clay following two decades of loyalty to the same manufacturer.
Yet his new weapon of choice was no match for Swiss veteran Stan Wawrinka, who triumphed 6-4 6-4 6-2 in the first round at 10.50pm local time.
Questions will be asked about the wisdom in tinkering with his tools, especially during a major and a month out from Wimbledon.
He might provide some answers if he has a deep run in the men’s doubles competition with Dan Evans.
Nonetheless, he waved goodbye to Court Philippe-Chatrier for the last time in singles combat, afforded a hero’s send-off by the locals.
That is, of course, assuming he follows through with his plan to retire this year.
Watching this heavyweight pair slug it out late into the cool Parisian night, when they could have been so easily at home with the pipe and slippers, did make you wonder.
Why are they bothering doing this in their advanced years?
What possesses them to keep going and not have called it quits by now?
Let the youngsters thrash it out on court. They have both earned enough cash to enjoy a long and happy retirement.
The combined age of these two warriors – who keep persevering despite all the injuries, surgeries and metal hips – was a remarkable 76 years.
That represented the second-oldest match-up this century at Roland Garros.
It was their 23rd meeting in 19 years but significantly, Wawrinka, 39, had won the previous two that had taken place on these grounds.
At the start of proceedings, the arena was about 50% full and the temperature had dipped to such an extent that blankets were needed in the snail-eating posh seats.
Murray, who was using a Yonex racquet for the first time not a Head one, had a troublesome opening service game that lasted seven minutes.
And he was undone by the world No.98 on the third break point.
Though he was still capable of firing down 127mph aces, Murray was being outfoxed on court by the more senior man.
Wawrinka was drop-shotting magnificently and blasting one-handed backhand winners down the line before he claimed the first set on 56 minutes.
In the battle of the three-time Grand Slam champions, Wawrinka struck first in the second set and his break in game three proved pivotal.
Tenacious Wawrinka – one of three players to defeat Djokovic, Federer, Murray and Nadal at the majors – took a medical timeout at the start of the third set.
And he also rubbed an ice pack on his left thigh, a reminder perhaps that he is not a young person anymore.
Yet there did not seem to be much wrong physically with the tennis OAP as he closed out the match comfortably in straight sets after more than two-and-a-quarter-hours.
Should he make round two, then British No.1 Cameron Norrie – who faces Russian Pavel Kotov on Monday – would be ill-advised to underestimate the ageless Wawrinka.
Surrey-based Murray may end up at an ATP Challenger in Surbiton next week for the start of the grass but he will be desperate to do better than this in his swansong summer.
After the match, Wawrinka said: “My first words were respect for a great champion.
“I’ve loved watching Andy play, loved fighting against him. We’ve had a lot of fights over the last 15 years.
“We aren’t very young so we did all we could and remembered all these moments.
“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.
“It was emotional at the end. It was amazing to be playing on the night session. This was my best match of the year.
“Andy’s an amazing guy, an amazing player, such a big fighter. We have a lot of respect for each other.”
Meanwhile, Murray refused to bla
He said: “I’m disappointed. It was always going to be a tough match.
“Stan, over the years, has played brilliant tennis on that court. He gave me very few opportunities. I didn’t have high expectations. I would have liked to have done better.
“Did the change of racquet play any factor? I don’t think so.
“In the last few years, I haven’t played a lot of clay-court tennis, I haven’t won a lot of matches.
“I don’t think it had much of a factor but it will also take a wee bit of time to get used to it. It’s different. There are positives to it. We will keep working on it.
“I told him well done for winning. We had a chat at the net. We have played and known each other for a long time.”