“(It was) probably the best clay-court match I’ve seen Andy Murray play”.
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The Swiss player staved off two break points in the third game of the third set and he gained some energy from a centre-court crowd largely pulling for him.
“I’m extremely proud”, said Murray, his voice wavering during an on-court interview after ousting defending champion Stan Wawrinka in the semifinals 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 Friday.
Novak Djokovic stormed into a sixth consecutive grand slam final with a crushing win over first-time French Open semi-finalist Dominic Thiem.
But Djokovic roared back, sweeping the next five games for 5-3 before 22-year-old Thiem stopped the bleeding at 4-5.
The Scot was in sensational form on Philipe-Chartier to beat the reigning champion 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 to become the first Brit to reach the men’s singles final in Paris in 79 years.
Austrian 13th seed Thiem is into his first at the majors as he finally realises the potential which was spotted during his days when he used to lift tree-trunks to beef up his physique.
“Best performance of the tournament”, the Serb told reporters of his own display before heaping praise on his 13th- seeded opponent. “Novak trying to win the career slam, and me trying
to win my first French Open, as well”.
He said: “This stage of my career, to do things that I have never done before is nice”.
“Then to reach the finals of the French the first time, that’s a big moment for me”.
Murray bested Djokovic in May’s Italian Open final, their most recent encounter on clay.
“I’ve always struggled on the clay, and the last two years I’ve had some of my best results”. “They are trying to do whatever they can do within the regulations, and I’m just hoping that for sake of this tournament and all the players that we are going to have that roof”. “To play the way that I did today after a tough start to the tournament, yeah, was just really, really happy with that”.
“He’s in the “Big Four” [along with Djokovic, Nadal and Roger Federer]”.
Not many people expected it this year either when he was two sets down against Czech qualifier Radek Stepanek, and then two-sets-to-one down against 164th-ranked French wildcard Mathias Bourgue.
“But if you were to compare our two careers, he’s well ahead of me given all the titles, the finals, number two in the world, and he has so many Masters 1000 (titles), as well”.
Their semi-final was played on the second show court as organisers looked to get the schedule back on track after persistent rain in Paris.
Victory on Sunday would be particularly significant for Djokovic as it would mean he has won every Grand Slam title at least once.
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“I’m just not thinking about those kind of situations”, he said. “I’ve played one of my best matches today and I’m looking forward to the final”.
