Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner lead emotional tributes to 'legendary' Stan Wawrinka after final French Open

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There were emotional scenes on Court Simonne-Mathieu on Monday as Stan Wawrinka said goodbye to the French Open following his first-round defeat to Jesper de Jong.

Watch emotional video as Federer, Sinner, Nadal and Alcaraz all pay tribute to Wawrinka

Video credit: TNT Sports

After four gruelling sets in the searing Paris heat, Wawrinka bowed out of the major tournament he won in 2015, as the 41-year-old's farewell tour continued in his final season before retirement.

De Jong - the lucky loser who became Wawrinka's first-round opponent following Arthur Fils' withdrawal - said after his victory that Monday was all about the Swiss. A heartwarming tribute took place with his greatest French Open moments played on the arena's screen before tributes flooded in from some of the biggest names in men's tennis history.

Roger Federer, Wawrinka's compatriot with whom he teamed up for Olympic Games gold in 2008, said: "Congratulations on your career and especially Roland-Garros, your victory was something extraordinary.

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"The victory in the final against Novak, these are moments that I will never forget, and it was a pleasure to share so much time on the circuit with you during your career.

"I hope you celebrate this last Roland-Garros with a lot of emotions and that you look forward to the end of your year."

Wawrinka disrupted the dominance of Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic to win three major titles between 2014 and 16, while his one-handed backhand will forever be remembered as one of the sport's iconic shots.

Watch former champion Wawrinka's emotional lap of honour after final Roland-Garros

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Djokovic, who was defeated by Wawrinka in the 2015 French Open and 2016 US Open finals, also paid tribute to his former rival.

"Congratulations on your incredible career," he said. "You have been so inspirational to me and so many other players across many generations you have competed with on your 25 years on tour.

"Multiple grand slam champion, Davis Cup champion, Olympic gold medallist. You’ve had a legendary career and I’m very happy to call you a friend."

Wawrinka's first Grand Slam title came at the Australian Open in 2014. Having defeated Djokovic en route to the final, he downed Nadal over four sets to claim his biggest win of his career to that point.

Nadal joined his former rivals in hailing Wawrinka.

"Many congratulations on your amazing career," Nadal said. "We grew up together, arrived on the tour at the same time, and I had the pleasure to spend all those years with you. You made an unforgettable career so congratulations for that and all the best for the future."

Such has been Wawrinka's longevity among the men's tennis elite that he has crossed paths with the sport's new generation and the current Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz also contributed kind words for the departing Swiss.

Watch: Warwinka puts his arm around umpire's shoulder after he checks ball marking

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"Stan, amazing career," Sinner said. "Grand Slam champion. You did something amazing. I had the pleasure to practice with you even when I was younger and I know you dedicated your whole life to be the best possible tennis player. So keep it up, I wish you the best for your next chapter. And a lot of health too."

Alcaraz added: "Stan the man! Really grateful for everything you’ve done for this sport. I’m just happy to have shared the locker room, the practice courts and tournaments with you and learnt from you very closely. So thank you very much and I wish you all the best in your new chapter."

Four months ago, Wawrinka played more than 10 hours of tennis as he exited the Australian Open in the third round after two marathon victories.

Highlights: Wawrinka bows out with emotional exit at final Roland-Garros

Video credit: TNT Sports

In the challenging conditions on Monday, he again pushed his opponent to the very last, and threatened to take the match further, but spurned the chance to break back for 5-5, before De Jong closed out victory to set up a second-round tie against qualifier Federico Cina.

'My dream was to be a tennis player'

Wawrinka was flooded with questions from reporters in his post-match press conference and he reflected on a tour career which has spanned more than two decades.

A popular figure among his rivals, he expressed his surprise at the amount of support he had received.

"Yeah, of course, I'm always surprised to receive so much love, so much support from other players or from the fans or from tournaments in general," he said.

"You know, I have been on tour for more than 20 years. For me, when I was young, my dream was to be a tennis player, professional tennis player, to be in the top 100, to have the opportunity to play those tournaments.

"I never expected to achieve so big in tennis, but I never put any limit in my career. I always wanted more. I always walk out to get more, push myself, push my own limits and try to find my own way to get there.

"So I'm happy and proud of what I achieved all those years, of course. Today, it was really tough. It's never easy to say goodbye to something you love so much, and you dedicate all your life for it. It will be difficult to leave Roland-Garros."

‘Proud’ Wawrinka says fans ‘the reason I kept playing so long’ after Roland-Garros farewell

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Wawrinka added that even in retirement, tennis will continue to be on his mind.

"Well, there are a number of things I know I'm going to do, but I did it on purpose," he said. "You know, I decided to look at many options, because I'd like first to finish this year as best as I can.

"I want to focus on my tennis until the end of the year. I want to still live and think about tennis. If I want to keep the same level until the end of the year, it's important to me.

"And then, when the year is over, I want to take some time to look back at these 25 years that is my career, and to understand this chapter that is my life so far.

"And then, to know what I want to do when I have a full day ahead of me, when I have many days to think about this, I need to perhaps take time before that."

Corretja: Wawrinka ‘one of the greats’

Wawrinka may have won only three Grand Slam titles but TNT Sports expert Alex Corretja thinks he is one of the all-time greats.

Part of the reason for that is the strength of the era he played in and part of it is because he did so with a one-handed backhand, when most players on tour used a double-handed backhand.

”Considering he was the only one besides Roger Federer, it was very difficult to win a Slam with a one-handed backhand,” said Corretja.

”I was impressed with the transition with Stan. He used to hit the ball well and then hit it super hard. His return was very specific, chipping it back then again with so much height. He will be remembered as one of the greatest players of all time for sure.”

Corretja added: ”He’s not as fast as before, his serve is not as huge. But we all love Stan the man. Growing up thinking this kid has an amazing one-handed backhand and people talk about it all over the world and this is one of his biggest legacies.”

'Difficult to say goodbye to Roland-Garros' says Wawrinka after emotional retirement

Video credit: TNT Sports

Wawrinka reached a career-high No. 3 in the world rankings in 2014 after winning the Australian Open.

Mats Wilander says he was ”like a train” and he should be known as part of the ‘Big Five’ along with Djokovic, Federer, Nadal and Andy Murray.

”It’s very, very sad to see Stan Wawrinka say goodbye because he’s so fun to watch,” said TNT Sports expert Wilander.

”He was probably my favourite ball striker of any player when he was playing at his best. I loved watching Stan Wawrinka play when he was the underdog.

”An incredible career. He obviously beat Novak Djokovic here [at the French Open], Rafael Nadal in Australia and Djokovic at the US Open. Winning three Grand Slams by beating the Big Three is just incredible.

”It’s maybe the Big Five because he belongs in that group alongside Andy Murray. But his backhand was so strong, a lot of people were impressed by his strength. He was like a train.”

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