Switzerland's Stan Wawrinka reacts as he defeats Britain's Andy Murray during their semifinal match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium, Friday, June 9, 2017 in Paris. His two-sets-to-one lead evaporated as Wawrinka, the 2015 French Open champion, captured their 6-7 (6), 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (3) 6-1 marathon in 4 hours, 34 minutes. "I was one tiebreak away from getting to the final", said the Scot, who was runner-up to Novak Djokovic a year ago.
In 14 of their 17 meetings, the victor of the opener had gone on to win the match but Wawrinka reeled off seven straight games to win the second and take a 3-0 lead in the third.
The Swiss hit 87 winners - 45 on the forehand side - as he finally overcame the determination and defensive skills of Murray. "How close that is to my tennis from a year ago, I don't know, but hopefully it gives me a good base to go into the grass-court season".
Murray, who arrived in Paris on the back of a woeful claycourt season, said he could take a lot of positives from his run to the semis.
The fourth set was even as can be - neither held a break point - but Wawrinka stepped up in that tiebreaker by winning its final three points, the last with a run-around forehand return victor delivered from wide of the doubles alley. It represents a chance to realize exactly what it's going to take to eventually break through to win his first Grand Slam title.
The second men's semifinal match at the French Open is underway on Court Philippe Chatrier. You know, I was one tiebreak away from getting to the final when I came in really struggling.
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At 3-0 in the third to Wawrinka, things looked bleak for Murray, but he moved a little closer to the baseline while continuing to pull off some miraculous recovery shots. Murray had one last gasp in the match, breaking Wawrinka's serve in the sixth game, but it was too little, too late.
"Physically I didn't feel my best at the end". Murray unleashed a forehand passing shot victor to put pressure on Wawrinka. "I do not want him to play his game, which means I need to make sure I don't let him be in that position where he can hit hard". And against a shot-maker, someone who hits the ball as big as him, that's obviously not ideal. No-one in tennis anticipates like Murray, and the Scot's ability not just to get a racket to smashes but to send them back with interest was driving Wawrinka to distraction.
The 30-year-old managed to serve it out for a two-sets-to-one advantage over Wawrinka as the match clock passed the three-hour mark. Murray leads their head-to-head series 10-7, including a four-set victory in last year's French Open semi-finals.
Thiem managed to break Nadal on his very first serve to make it 1-0 but the nine time champion turned things around immediately.
Rafael Nadal reacts after a point in his win over Dominic Thiem. "I didn't have enough weight on my shot at the end of the match to put him under pressure".
"It's true that Dominic played with more mistakes than usual probably. It's enough. Nine are more than good!" he quipped. Today, I think he's less confident. "It's the moment I have to be very happy".
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