Paris: Stan Wawrinka subjected Andy Murray to a barrage of body blows as he broke down the Briton’s formidable defences to reach the French Open final here Friday, twice coming from a set down to win a high-octane contest 6-7(8-6), 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(7-3), 6-1.
The Swiss 2015 champion hit a staggering 87 winners as he avenged last year’s semifinal defeat by the World No.1 to set up a final against nine-times champion Rafa Nadal or rising Austrian talent Dominic Thiem.
Murray absorbed everything Wawrinka threw at him for most of the four hour and 34 minute contest but after winning a tense fourth set, Wawrinka steamed ahead in the decider as the Briton’s armour was finally pierced.
The third seed, at 32 the oldest man to reach the Roland Garros final since Niki Pilic finished runner-up in 1973, was long frustrated by Murray but never lost faith despite seeing his opponent rally back from a break down in the first and third sets.
“There are two ways of seeing things and I chose to be positive, knowing that I was dominating,” said Wawrinka, who has won the three Grand Slam finals he has played. Murray said he could take a lot of positives from his run to the semis.
Reuters
