Master of clay awaits Wawrinka in Paris
Stan Wawrinka battered the ball as if each swing would determine the outcome of his French Open semifinal against No. 1 Andy Murray.
For much of their 41/2 hours of compelling, lengthy and draining points, Murray was up to the task, relentlessly defending and making Wawrinka hit shot after shot after shot. Eventually, the resolute Wawrinka’s offence prevailed. Not bad for an old guy, huh? Forced to come back twice from a set behind, and never easing up on his go-for-it, attacking style, 2015 champion Wawrinka at last pulled away to beat Murray 6-7 (6), 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (3), 6-1 on Friday. He becomes the oldest men’s finalist at Roland Garros in 44 years.
“You expect him to hit a lot of balls, for sure. I wasn’t always happy with that,” Wawrinka said. “You know what his game is, you know how well he can play, and you need to accept it. You need to, as I say, keep pushing yourself.”
Now comes an even tougher task, something the No. 3-seeded Wawrinka, a 32-year-old from Switzerland, called “probably the biggest challenge you can have in tennis.” He will face Rafael Nadal in the French Open final. Nadal reached his 10th final at his favourite tournament — he’s 9-0 in finals so far — by overwhelming No. 6 Dominic Thiem of Austria 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 in barely two hours.
Nadal has lost a total of 29 games through six matches, back to his dominating best on clay after withdrawing from the French Open before the third round a year ago with an injured left wrist.
It will be Nadal’s 22nd Grand Slam final overall, breaking a tie with Novak Djokovic for second behind Roger Federer’s 28.
If Nadal wins, it’ll be his 15th at a major, breaking a tie with Pete Sampras for second behind Federer’s 18.
On Saturday, Jelena Ostapenko will face Simona Halep in the French Open women’s final.
Ostapenko, the first tennis player from Latvia to reach a Grand Slam final, is the youngest finalist at any major since 2009; she turned 20 on Thursday, when she won her semifinal.