Serena Williams serves during her match against Teliana Pereira of Brazil at the 2016 French Open at Roland Garros on May 26, 2016 in Paris.
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Djokovic now faces Dominic Thiem of Austria tonight for a place in the final after defeating Berdych 6-3 7-5 6-3.
The second seed Murray reached the title match in Paris for the first time with a comprehensive 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 semi-final win over the Swiss title-holder who was on a 12-match winning streak in the tournament.
It was clear how good he considered his chances to be here after beating Djokovic in the final of the Rome Masters a week before the tournament when he said of the Stepanek victory: “It could turn out to be one of the biggest wins of my career”.
If it were not for the official’s fast reflexes in dodging a racket throw from the irascible Serb, weaving out of the way like a batsman avoiding a bouncer, the world No 1 could have been slung out of the tournament. It’s going to be more a matter of Murray hitting deep enough and with sufficient variety to keep Wawrinka off balance.
Britain’s world No 2 Andy Murray said he was “extremely proud” after he reached the French Open final for the first time on Friday.
How right he was, and now he joins his “big four” rivals Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in having reached the final at all four slams.
Thiem got his first break in the third set but that spurred a purring Djokovic back into action and his opponent, who won the Nice tournament last month, had no answers.
Djokovic, who will be contesting his 30th grand slam semi-final, is not a complete stranger to playing a last-four showdown away from the main stage. That loss to Wawrinka was Djokovic’s most recent at a major.
The Austrian has the game to be a world-beater himself and in his first grand slam semi-final he was far from overawed, but the 11-times grand slam champion came out firing and the pressure was relentless.
“Novak”, Murray noted, “obviously plays great on all of the surfaces”.
The victory was his 27th in a row in slams, and a repeat on Sunday would make him the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four titles at the same time.
The Swiss dropped out of the French Open at Roland Garros, which concludes this weekend, with a back injury.
Djokovic and Murray, born a week apart in May 1987, are not the only ones in pursuit of records in Paris.
“I was lucky there”, Djokovic admitted.
On Friday, the women’s semifinals were played simultaneously in front of similarly empty stadiums, Williams vs. Bertens at Court Philippe Chatrier, Muguruza vs. Stosur at Court Suzanne Lenglen, where tickets were available for 20 euros ($22).
Thiem was playing his first grand slam semifinal, Djokovic his eighth at Roland Garros and experience proved to be paramount as the Serb perfectly handled the important points.
“He was just too strong today”, Thiem explained. ‘I think we all know in this room if that was me that did that, it would be an absolute circus, ‘ he said. Murray’s last win against Wawrinka came in 2012.
Known for his on-court outburst, the Serbian lost his cool after a missing a break point in the second game of the third set. Williams needed to erase two set points for her 58th-ranked Dutch opponent in the opener, but managed to get through it.
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“Well, I mean, it’s going to be unbelievably tough”.
