The Austrian opened up a 3-0 lead in the set courtesy of his stunning single-handed backhand.
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It will be the 29-year-old’s sixth successive Grand Slam championship match as he looks to add a first Roland Garros crown to his collection of 11 majors.
Many players have been wishing Roland Garros had a roof – or at least a big tent, though that wasn’t what Berdych was referring to during his straight-sets quarterfinal defeat against Djokovic.
Novak Djokovic advanced to the French Open semifinals on Thursday, beating Tomas Berdych in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5, 6-3.
“I had to play my best tennis on some points”, Djokovic said.
He opened his account by defeating Lukas Rosol in his toughest match of the tournament so far.
“I have been dreaming all year long of reaching the Roland Garros final”.
But Djokovic was utterly ruthless as he attacked it from the first ball, forcing Thiem to go for too much, too soon.
Djokovic was just as untouchable in the second set despite playing for a fourth successive day as the slightly faster conditions played into his hands.
“Obviously the last two years here he has played great tennis”, said Murray of Wawrinka. “It’s the first time I have played a semi-final on the Suzanne Lenglen court”, said the top seed, moved out to the secondary arena as organisers played catch-up in a rain-ruined schedule.
“I am extremely proud”. I’ll just give everything I’ve got the next few days, ‘ Murray said in the build up to match. We normally play some good battles in the past, so I’m quite happy to play him.
Murray has not won a set against Wawrinka since 2012 and can not afford to make as many errors as he did in the opening two sets of his quarter-final against Richard Gasquet.
Ending his claycourt hoodoo against the Swiss, second seed Murray came close to losing his first service game, which he took after five deuces before winning the set in an epic 10th game in which Wawrinka held three break points.
Murray leads their head-to-head 8-7 but has lost the last three and has not taken a set off Wawrinka since 2012.
The last man to win the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open in a row was Rod Laver, who took all four titles in 1969.
“Novak”, Murray noted, “obviously plays great on all of the surfaces”. But I’m here to try and win the tournament, not make the final. “But Andy’s had an incredibly consistent record in the slams”.
Andy Murray hopes his passion for breaking new ground can drive him to a first French Open final.
“I have learned a lot how to control my emotions inside the court and outside the court”.
“In a tournament like this you have to be very focused”.
“So it’s going to be an interesting match, for sure”.
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She was also well ahead in the second set before Stosur finally made her sweat. From 5-2 down in the first-set tiebreak, Bertens rallied to 5-5.
