Stan Wawrinka is keeping coy about his future in tennis after losing in the second round at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday.
The three-time Grand Slam champion fell 6-4, 7-5, to Australia’s Alexi Popyrin who didn’t face a single break point through the match. Wawrinka, who won a gold medal in doubles at the 2008 Games with Roger Federer, was playing in his third Olympics. Despite being a previous medalist, he has never won back-to-back matches in the singles tournament.
‘It’s a tough loss for sure. I think I played well but he was just better today,” Wawrinka said following his match via the Olympic Information Service.
“I’m sad with the loss but there was an amazing atmosphere on court. It was a great experience to be able to get another Olympics.”
At 39, the Swiss player is the oldest man to play in an Olympic singles tournament since the sport returned to the schedule in 1988. Despite his age, Wawrinka still believes he can play against the best in the world. However, he admits there is a possibility that the 2024 season might be his last on the Tour.
“We’ll see. So far it’s been a tough year but since then, I do believe that I’ve still played some good tennis.” He said.
“Fitness-wise, I’m doing well. So I will go to the (United) States to play some tournaments, and after America I’ll play some more tournaments in Europe, and we’ll see at the end of the year.”
Wawrinka is currently ranked 149th in the world.
As for Popyrin, he will next play defending champion Alexander Zverev who continued his campaign with a 6-3, 7-5, win over Tomas Machac. The German is bidding to become only the second man to win back-to-back Olympic titles after Andy Murray.
“I’m a big sweater so to retain fluid was tough. It was pretty poor,” Reuters quoted Zverev as commenting on the sweltering heat. “They give bottles to the players but the bottles don’t stay cool, so, you know, you’re drinking hot water out there. That’s not fun in those sort of conditions.”
Taylor Fritz overcame an early scare to outlast Britain’s Jack Draper 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-2. The American will face Lorenzo Musetti in the next round and then could play Zverev in the last eight. He is bidding to become the first man from his country to win an Olympic singles medal in 20 years.
Finally, Tommy Paul eased his way to a 6-3, 6-1, win over 18-year-old Jakub Mensik.
