The Frenchman will now face off against the eight-time champion Rafael Nadal in the final.
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The victory saw Nadal claim the title for the first time since 2012, when he had triumphed at the clay court tournament for an eighth consecutive year.
“I play at home in Barcelona and next week, too, in Madrid, and it’s a fact that I always enjoy playing in front of Spanish crowds, so I’m very excited”.
Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic beat Kiki Bertens and Richel Hogenkamp 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in a decisive doubles match on Sunday as France rallied from 2-1 down against the Netherlands to win 3-2 and reach its first Fed Cup final in 11 years.
He did it by wearing down a stubborn Gael Monfils over two punishing sets before steamrollering his opponent in the decider to win 7-5, 5-7, 6-0 in two hours and 46 minutes. He would seem run out of answers as Murray finished off the opening frame by winning two straight games.
Nadal struggled in the first set against Murray, who started full of confidence and appeared on course for his first final at the Masters event.
Monfils bounced back well to win the second set 7-5.
The tide probably turned in the third round, when Nadal saved 15 of 16 break points to down Dominic Thiem, the man who had defeated him in the Buenos Aires semis in February. The Spaniard would jump on Murray three straight in the final game to force a third set with the momentum clearly favoring him. I’m in the final of Monte Carlo. Going for broke, the right-hander tried to get another break, but when he was unsuccessful, he didn’t have enough left in the tank to hold his own serve; Nadal broke him at love to make the score even again at 3-3. A Nadal error-followed by an intelligent drop shot-brought the Frenchman back.
He would not be so gracious later on as the match progressed.
Although Nadal says he is “still not 100 percent” his famed resilience is coming back. This prompted the umpire to call a stoppage in the subsequent changeover, infuriating Murray.
A wild smash from Murray, though, and the French took another lead. He dropped his level a little bit and I was able to come back into the match and end up winning. Murray responded by telling the umpire he didn’t know what he was talking about.
And showing few ill effects from his recent periods of inactivity, Nadal stepped up to power his way to victory and send a message to his opponents that he is on the road to recovery. “That’s something I missed a lot”.
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While there is uncertainty whether Nadal is ready to once again take over the tennis scene at Roland Garros, a touch of history and stats favor the 29-year-old to be the victor in Paris. That game lasted over eight grueling minutes.
