A video tribute from Roger Federer marked the end of the French Open on Monday for Stan Wawrinka as the Swiss went out in the first round.

Joining Federer in celebrating the career of the three-time Grand Slam winner who will pack up his racquet at the end of this season were former rivals Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and retiring French icon Gael Monfils.

Current world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and his own rival Carlos Alcaraz also sent best wishes.  

The 41-year-old Wwarinka, who won the Paris title in 2015 and claimed Davis Cup and Olympic titles, reached a career high of third in the world.

He lost his opening match at this edition, defeated by 25-year-old Jesper de Jong 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

The winner’s Dutch coach had once lost to Wawrinka back in the day.

Three-timm Grand Slam champion Wawrinka was surprised in a post-match on-cort ceremony orchestrated by TD Amelie Mauresmo and federation boss Gilles Moretton,

“Ciao Stanley, congratulations for your career and especially what you did when you won at Roland Garros,”  20-time Grand Slam winner Federer said in his message on the stadium video wall.

“It was exceptional what you did in beating novak in the final – I will neve forget it

“I spent so much time with you on the Tour over the course of your career. I hope you celebrate this final Roland Garros properly and that you enjoy everything up until the end of your career (coming at the end of this season).

“See you soon, old man.”

Nadal recalled that he and Wwarinak “grew up together” adding that the Swiss had “an unforgettable career.”

Djokovic, last of the fabled Big 3 still active in the sport, addressed his friend and rival: “Stanimal, congratulations on an incredible career.

“You were an inspiration to me and many other players across several generations (after 25 years in the sport).

“You have so much to be proud of, I’m very happy to call you a friend.”

Alexander Zverev maintained his near-perfect first-round success rate at Roland Garros as the second seed produced a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 defeat of Benjamin Bonzi to advance on Sunday’s opening day.

The German who played the final here in 2024 against Carlos Alcaraz, has passed the Paris first round for the tenth time in 11 appearances.

He won in sweltering 33 Celsius conditions, which are expected to last for through the coming Week 1

The 29-year-old who has been bothered by recent back issues due to a busy match schedule, nevertheless has compiled an impressive spring clay record, reaching the Madrid final along with semi-finals in Monte Carlo and Munich.

He stumbled in the Rome Masters run-up, going out in the fourth round to Luciano Darderi as his back worry played up, causing him to withdraw from Geneva.

Zverev made his move into the second round in around two hours over the No 98.

“It was a good start, it’s sometimes as simple as that,” Zverev said, “I won in three sets. 

“It was an opening match against an opponent who can make it difficult against good players. He’s shown that in the past, and I handled it well.

“That’s what I’m the most happy about.”

Zverev advanced to the semi-finals at three of four clay events played this season, highlighted by a run to the Madrid final.

Australian James Duckworth booked the first second-round spot of the fortnight after winning an abbreviated opening match, defeating injured Canadian Gabriel Diallo 6-3, 4-1 in barely an hour.

Karen Khachanov dished out the first French loss of the tournament as he defeated Arthur Gea 6-3, 7-6 (3), 6-0,with the 140th-ranked wild card forced to rush off court at one point for a bathroom emergency.

Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina needed more than four hours to complete a 6-7 (3), 6-3, 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 defeat of Damir Dzumhur.

“Today was a very tough match, I didn’t expect that it was going to be that hot today,” the winner said.

“I suffered a lot with this heat. At the beginning, I was not feeling very good, so I needed to change a little bit my plans.

“Physically I was struggling a little bit. At the end, I was a little bit lucky
playing two, three shots. I made a lot of winners.”

He said the win needed extra effort after playing last week in the cool 10 Celsius of Hamburg,

The peace talks came after a Friday interview boycott by most top players, who limited their pre-event interactions with media to 15 minutes while snubbing TV broadcasters.

Players are asking for a larger share of Grand Slam prize money, aiming for a rise from 15 to 22 per cent, a figure well below payouts in other spots.

French federation (FFT) officials promised a response to the demands in the immediate future. Confrontations with Wimbledon and the US Open are also likely to proceed during the Paris fortnight.

The Australian Open has already sided with the players when the issue first arose earlier this season.

The FFT “has committed to responding to the players’ proposals in the coming weeks,” the ruling body said.

Players are seeking a closer involvement in the big decisions of the sport along with increased health insurance and retirement benefits.

Sinner, with USD 56 million already in career prize money at age 24, might do well to follow the example of retired icon Roger Federer, who earned 130 million on court and much more off it,

The Swiss, reportedly now a tennis billionaire, often said he would not be needing his ATP pension but was happy to work on behalf of other  players.