PARIS World number one Novak Djokovic will play his French Open semi-final on Friday away from the main show court after organisers were forced to stage four semi-finals on the same day in the rain-ravaged grand slam tournament.
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On Friday he gets another opportunity to make a first British breakthrough since Bunny Austin reached the final 79 years ago.
While Djokovic beat Murray at the Australian Open, as well as at the Madrid finals last month, Murray has the most recent win in one of their head-to-head meetings.
Eyeing his first title at Roland Garros to complete a career Grand Slam, the No. 1-seeded Djokovic beat No. 7 Tomas Berdych 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 on Thursday.
“That was one of the worst calls that I ever had on the court”, the Czech player said.
“It’s a big milestone, I think, for every tennis player”, he said.
“I am extremely proud, I never expected to reach the final here, I always struggled on the clay but in the last two years I’ve had some of my best results on it”.
“I have been dreaming all year long of reaching the Roland Garros final”.
Murray won’t under-estimate Wawrinka who stunned Djokovic in last year’s final.
It is in the head that Djokovic believes he may have the advantage over his Scottish opponent, a man just seven days his senior who he has beaten in four out of six major finals, and whose game he has been trying to pick apart since the first time he recalls facing him as an 11-year-old.
Andy Murray at Italian Open 2016.
After failing to convert a break point early in the third set, the world number one hurled his racket in frustration and then watched as it flew towards a line judge.
When Andy Murray was dragged to five sets in the opening round of the French Open and then again in the second, it was hard to believe this would be the year when the Scot could end Britain’s 81-year wait for a men’s Roland Garros champion.
The second set followed a similar pattern with Murray breaking in the third game, but this time the two-time major champion made it back-to-back breaks as he pulled 5-1 clear.
Two four-setters followed to see off Richard Gasquet in the last-eight and Wawrinka in the semi-finals. “For both of us it was not easy with the conditions, but I am really happy right now”, said Thiem.
Murray closed out the match in the fourth set with two further breaks of serve.
Because of all the rain this week that jumbled the schedule, the semifinals were played simultaneously, and tickets to Lenglen went for a bargain-basement rate of $22, creating what Djokovic called an “amazing ambiance, atmosphere”.
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The No. 12-seeded Goffin had set point in the tiebreaker and led Thiem 4-2 in the third set before Thiem reeled off nine straight games to lead 5-0 in the fourth.
