Stan Wawrinka retires after straight-sets defeat by Lehecka in Basel

Stan Wawrinka's professional tennis career ended on Tuesday with a 7-5, 7-6 (7-2) defeat by Jiri Lehecka in the opening round of the Swiss Indoors in Basel. The 41-year-old Swiss player departed with three Grand Slam titles and 16 tour-level trophies, while Lehecka advanced to the second round. BBC Sport and Swiss broadcaster SRF reported the result and the home crowd's farewell.

Watch the highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mo_Aust_pN0

Wawrinka remained competitive through both sets but could not turn his opportunities into a lead. SRF reported that he missed two break chances in the opening set before Lehecka broke for 6-5 and served it out. The second set reached a tie-break, where the Czech player won seven points to two, completing the victory on his first match point after a Wawrinka backhand error.

The crowd continued to celebrate Wawrinka despite the defeat. During a changeover with the Swiss player leading 5-4 in the second set, he joined supporters in a wave around the arena. Afterwards, he thanked those who had supported his career and took a lap of honour, according to SRF's account of the evening.

Wawrinka reached a career-high ranking of world number three and won his major singles titles at three different tournaments. His breakthrough came at the 2014 Australian Open, where he defeated Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals and Rafael Nadal in the final. He added the French Open in 2015 and the US Open in 2016, beating Djokovic in both title matches.

BBC Sport recalled that Wawrinka also overcame Roger Federer in the quarter-finals on his way to the French Open crown, while his US Open run included saving a match point against Dan Evans in the third round. Those victories formed part of a career encompassing 985 matches. Speaking to the ATP website, in comments reported by the BBC, Wawrinka said giving his full effort and leaving without regrets had been central to his approach.

The retirement had been announced before the season, Sky Sports reported. Lehecka, the eighth seed in Basel, will next face Daniel Altmaier. For Wawrinka, the loss brought his final professional tournament to a close in front of a Swiss audience.