Andy Murray beaten by Stan Wawrinka in five sets in French Open semi-finals
| French Open men’s final |
|---|
| Venue: Roland Garros, Paris Date: Sunday, 11 June Time: 14:00 BST |
| Coverage: Live radio commentary and text coverage on BBC Radio 5 live, the BBC Sport website and app. |
Andy Murray’s French Open hopes ended with a five-set defeat by Swiss third seed Stan Wawrinka in the semi-finals.
The world number one was beaten 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 5-7 7-6 (7-3) 6-1 in four hours and 34 minutes.
It was a repeat of last year’s semi-final, which the Briton won before going on to lose the final to Novak Djokovic.
Former champion Wawrinka faces Rafael Nadal or Dominic Thiem in Sunday’s final.
At 32 years and 75 days, Wawrinka is the oldest finalist at Roland Garros since Nikola Pilic in 1973.
- Text updates from men’s semi-finals
Wawrinka winners too much for Murray
Wawrinka will get the chance to add a second Roland Garros title to his 2015 victory, and move ahead of Murray with four Grand Slam titles, after his shot-making won the day.
The Swiss hit 87 winners – 45 on the forehand side – as he finally overcame the determination and defensive skills of Murray.
Short on matches after a season interrupted by illness and injury, Murray got within four points of victory but ultimately ran out of gas as Wawrinka made him cover a punishing 4.5km over more than four hours.
Wawrinka had chances to win both the first and third sets as well, only for Murray to clinch a gripping opening tie-break after two superb lobs in the same rally.
The Swiss went on a run of seven games in a row to take the second and move 3-0 up in the third, as he pulled the Scot from side to side before firing winners into the spaces down each line.
It took a magnificent response from Murray, twice a break down, to edge the third set as he harried and chased into the far reaches of Philippe Chatrier Court.
When Wawrinka dumped a volley into the net to fall two sets to one behind, having lost three points when Murray sent smashes flying back to him, the Swiss looked understandably bewildered.
The fourth set came down to another tie-break as neither man could fashion a break point, and a misjudged drop shot from Murray proved crucial as Wawrinka took the last three points in a row.
The prospect of a fifth-set decider had the Chatrier crowd on their feet but Wawrinka made sure it was no contest, opening up with another forehand winner down the line as he raced 5-0 clear.
Murray managed one final rearguard with a break of serve, before Wawrinka ripped his 21st backhand winner of the afternoon down the line to secure victory.