Stan Wawrinka gratful for chance at US Open goodbye after originally being denied in wild turn of events

Stan Wawrinka had already said goodbye to his Grand Slam career, the U.S. Open and the city of New York.

Nearing the end of his farewell tour at age 41, Wawrinka — who already was in New York training — left for his home country of Switzerland last week believing he was denied a wild-card entry to the high-profile tournament in Flushing he won exactly 10 years ago.

In a twist of fate handed down by the tennis gods, however, the three-time Grand Slam champion ultimately was granted entry after American Patrick Kypson withdrew with an injury.

Suddenly, he was back on a plane flying the 8 ¹/₂ hours back to New York.

Wawrinka described the “roller coaster” week he had leading up to his first-round matchup against Italy’s Matteo Berrettini on Grandstand on Monday.

“For me it was, in my mind, the end of my Grand Slam career,” Wawrinka said. “I would have loved, like I said, to be here. So I had to accept those emotions by not having the wild card, and I was OK with that. At the end of the day, I always say that the only way to be sure to play a tournament, you have to be the right ranking. And I knew I wasn’t on the list directly, so I was hoping for a wild card, but I also know that wild cards are not granted. So it was not a problem for me not to have it.

“I was just sad not to be able to say goodbye to New York and to the U.S. Open.”

Wawrinka will have that opportunity after all, having received the call with word of his wild-card invitation Wednesday while in the Swiss mountains.

“Of course, I was happy, and I had to quickly organize to be back here,” he said.

Wawrinka, who practiced Sunday with world No. 2 and tournament favorite Carlos Alcaraz, was at the mercy of the U.S. Tennis Association while sitting on the outside of the top 100 players who automatically secure entry.

The world No. 125 was an easy player for the organization to turn to when a spot became available. On the 10th anniversary of his U.S. Open run, Wawrinka gets to celebrate with one last hurrah on the grounds of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. There’s even a chance he’ll square off against the man he beat to win that Slam, Novak Djokovic, in the second round of this year’s tournament.

In 2016, the 31-year-old Wawrinka took down a then-29-year-old Djokovic 6-7 (1), 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 to become the oldest U.S. Open men’s singles champion since Ken Rosewall (35 in 1970).

“The final, the day of the final, the excitement of playing here,” Wawrinka said when asked what he remembers most about his run to that U.S. Open title. “I think the match, the energy, the people, the fans, for me. I watch so many final of U.S. Open before that, so of course to have the opportunity at 31 to play that final against Novak, it was really special.”

Wawrinka said he was “at peace” with his decision to hang up his racket after 24 years on the professional circuit.

As he prepares to wrap up his Grand Slam tour at the U.S. Open, a tournament that served as the backdrop for the greatest and most emotional victory of his career, Wawrinka’s gratitude is palpable.

And after a grueling 4-hour, 20-minute loss to Berrettini in the first round at Wimbledon, Wawrinka has a chance to cap their head-to-head at one win apiece.

“I think every victory is going to be special anywhere, especially in Grand Slam,” Wawrinka said of how his 2016 title compares to his victories at the 2014 Australian Open and 2015 French Open. “I think New York, it’s one of my favorite cities, by far. Really always enjoy being here, to have the chance. I have many friends here, I love the city, I love the energy. I think the U.S. Open is something really special as a tennis player, from the first one to those three weeks, you see the support, you see the fans.

“I’ve been here for more than 20 years. I’ve played on every court, even the small one, practice court. There is always a lot of support, a lot of fans. I have always been enjoying that.”