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Andy Murray will face Stan Wawrinka in a must-see semi-final at Roland Garros after battling past eighth seed Kei Nishikori on Wednesday 2-6, 6-1, 7-6(0), 6-1. The Scot overcame a slow start to reach his fourth consecutive Roland Garros semi-final and come within a match of returning to the Roland Garros final, where fell to Novak Djokovic last year.
Wawrinka advanced by beating Croatian Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-3, 6-1. The semi-final will be a rematch of a last-four match-up last year, in which Murray dismissed the 2015 titlist Wawrinka in four sets. The Scot leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 10-7 and has won their past two contests, including a round-robin contest at last year’s Nitto ATP Finals in London.
? Instant Replay ?
Les meilleurs moments du 1/4 @andy_murray / @keinishikori, c’est par ici ? ⏯ #RG17 pic.twitter.com/THv1ZGx95C— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 7, 2017
“When we played last year, it was similar situation coming in. I think Stan had played really well coming into the match. I had struggled in some of my matches during the event last year, but I played one of my best clay-court matches that day to get the win. I need to do the same again… He’s been playing very well. He’s not dropped a set here,” Murray said. “It’s going to be very tough. But I can learn some things from last year. I’m sure he will, as well, and will try to change some things. Should be an interesting match.”
Two weeks ago, it seemed unlikely that Murray would be enjoying such a run in Paris. The Brit entered Roland Garros 4-4 on the clay but has since reeled off five consecutive victories, including wins against Juan Martin del Potro, #NextGenATP Karen Khachanov and Nishikori. Murray is now 21-7 on the year and looking for his first title since March when he captured the Dubai crown.
“As you get through the matches, you gain in confidence,” Murray said. “I didn’t feel like I played great tennis today. It’s a huge step in the right direction for me. Anyone can win matches when they are playing well. It’s winning when you’re not playing your best that is more impressive. So I’m happy about that… Obviously if someone had offered me a semi-final spot before the tournament, I would have signed up for that because I was not playing well at all. And practice also was not good.”
Murray’s quarter-final, his 11th FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting against Nishikori, didn’t start off well for the World No. 1, either. Nishikori played nearly perfect for the first 34 minutes, pushing Murray feet behind the baseline and charging the net at every opportunity. Nishikori also seized his court-position advantage, executing drop shot after drop shot to keep Murray off guard.
It was the same strategy that helped him prevail against Murray in the 2016 US Open quarter-finals, the last time the Japanese beat Murray.
But the Brit came alive in the second set and hardly looked back. Earlier in the match, Murray had been warned about spending more than 20 seconds in between points. And as he was mid-toss at 40/40, 1-1 in the second set, chair umpire Carlos Ramos delivered a time violation, which stripped Murray of the chance to hit a first serve.
Murray used the penalty to jumpstart his play. He won the next point and celebrated with a “Let’s go! Come on!” The Scot held that game and then reeled off four consecutive games to even the match as Nishikori looked dejected and struggled to replicate his electric opener.
“Obviously for a couple of points after that I was fired up, because I was frustrated at that moment,” Murray said. “That was a critical period of the match because he started way better than me. He had chances at the beginning of the second as well. And then from there I started to do a bit better.”
In the third set, Murray broke at 5-5 when Nishikori dumped a backhand into the net. The Japanese dropped his head in disappointment but quickly bounced back to force a tie-break. Murray, though, dominated the tie-break, not yielding a single point to take a two-sets-to-one lead.
The fourth set was more like the second set, as Murray was the aggressor and coasted to a return trip to the semi-finals.
“I couldn’t maintain my level, obviously. I was missing a little more in the end than earlier in the match,” Nishikori said. “I think a little bit of rushing too much, too aggressive sometimes. At the same time he was raising his level. So it was tough to play in the end.”
Go inside the tournament at RolandGarros.com.
Austrian relishing top contender status at Roland Garros
Dominic Thiem enjoyed one of the biggest wins of his career on Wednesday by defeating Novak Djokovic for the first time in six attempts in their Roland Garros quarter-final. But while the Court Philippe-Chatrier crowd may have been shocked, the outcome was perfectly logical for the Austrian.
“I didn’t play a different game style. I just had a positive winner-error statistic today,” said Thiem. “That’s very important because I think that was never the case against him before.”
The 23 year old has been in top form throughout this tournament, cruising into the final four without the loss of a set. Although the run can already be considered one of the best results of his career, Thiem said his main focus now is avoiding a letdown.
“I have always played a much worse match the following day if I beat a top guy,” said Thiem. “I hope I can improve that.”
.@ThiemDomi downs defending champion Djokovic to reach the #RG17 SFs!
Dominic Thiem fait tomber le champion en titre ! pic.twitter.com/U9iKJWbT7k— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 7, 2017
Thiem experienced this the hard way after handing Rafael Nadal his only loss on clay this season in the quarter-finals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. Mentally and physically depleted, he came back on court 24 hours later against Djokovic and only won a single game.
This time, the situation was reversed. After defeating Djokovic, Thiem will play Nadal for a chance to reach his first Grand Slam final. Nadal leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head 4-2, but the pair have already played three times this year. Nadal defeated Thiem in the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell and Mutua Madrid Open finals before Thiem turned the tables in Rome.
With all six of their meetings coming on clay, there will be no surprises for either player when they take the court again on Friday.
“It’s great for me to be in the semi-finals again and defend that [from last year]. The toughest opponent ever here in Roland Garros is coming on Friday, though. It’s going to be the fourth match against him in five or six weeks, so there aren’t any secrets,” said Thiem. “He’s in his best shape. It’s going to be the toughest match you can imagine.”
The Austrian is quickly adapting to his relatively new role as a contender for major titles. Thiem consistently found himself in the final weekend of ATP World Tour 250 events last year, but is now accomplishing this in 500-level and Masters 1000 events in 2017. The breakthrough achievements of last year are now results that he knows he can accomplish.
However, Thiem said that he will need to find another gear if he is win to his first Grand Slam title.
“Everything was a new sensation for me last year. I could only win, basically. I think it was a little bit more difficult this year,” said Thiem. “I wasn’t satisfied with the semis last year, but it was still amazing for me. This year, of course I didn’t expect it, but I wanted to go deep. It’s a very different mindset.
“It’s a joke how tough it is to win a slam,” he added. “I beat Novak. On Friday, it’s Nadal. In the final, there is another top star. That’s why it’s a Grand Slam, because winning one is such a tough achievement.”
Go inside the tournament at RolandGarros.com
Spaniard Fernando Verdasco and Serbian Nenad Zimonjic advanced to the Roland Garros semi-finals on Wednesday, beating Brazilian Rogerio Dutra Silva and Italian Paolo Lorenzi 7-6(5), 7-5 in one hour and 47 minutes.
The win also moves the 41-year-old Zimonjic closer to a career milestone. The right-hander, who turned 41 on 4 June, now has 698 tour-level doubles wins. If he wins the Roland Garros doubles title, he will celebrate his 700th doubles match win. Verdasco/Zimonjic will next meet Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico and Donald Young of the U.S.
Go inside the tournament at RolandGarros.com.
Third seed cruises on Court Philippe-Chatrier
Third seed Stan Wawrinka continued his dominance against Marin Cilic in their quarter-final on Wednesday at Roland Garros, cruising into the final four with a convincing 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 triumph.
Wawrinka improves his FedEx ATP Head2Head with Cilic to 12-2 and has won their past eight matches. The Swiss star has prevailed in all five of their meetings on clay, including a victory at Roland Garros in 2008.
Next up for Wawrinka is top seed Andy Murray or eighth seed Kei Nishikori. Murray leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head 10-7, including a victory last year in their Roland Garros semi-final. Wawrinka and Nishikori are even in their FedEx ATP Head2Head at 4-4. The Japanese star has won their past two matches, including a victory this January in the Brisbane semi-finals.
Wawrinka is through to his third straight Roland Garros semi-final, marking the first time he’s achieved this at a Grand Slam. He has also reached three consecutive Grand Slam semi-finals for the first time in his career. At 32 years, 75 days, Wawrinka is the oldest semi-finalist at this event since Jimmy Connors (32 years, 280 days in 1985).
After a tame start to the clay season that saw him a sport 2-3 record, Wawrinka is on a nine-match win streak on the dirt. He defended his title on home soil in Geneva (d. Zverev), and stormed into the final four at Roland Garros without losing a set.
More: Thiem Shocks Djokovic
The Swiss star stormed to a 3-0 lead in the opening set and hit three consecutive winners to grab the early advantage. He then fired a forehand return winner to clinch an early break at 1-1 in the second set. Although Cilic managed to level the match at 3-3, the remainder of the contest was one-way traffic. Wawrinka won the next eight games and comfortably closed out the match on his first try, hitting a second-serve ace to end the match in one hour and 40 minutes.
Go inside the tournament at RolandGarros.com
| French Open |
|---|
| Venue: Roland Garros, Paris Dates: 28 May- 11 June |
| Coverage: Listen to live radio commentary and follow text coverage of selected matches on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and online. |
Britain’s Andy Murray reached his fourth consecutive French Open semi-final with a four-set win over Kei Nishikori in Paris.
The world number one came through 2-6 6-1 7-6 (7-0) 6-1 against the Japanese eighth seed at Roland Garros.
The 30-year-old goes on to face Swiss third seed Stan Wawrinka, who beat Marin Cilic 6-3 6-3 6-1.
It is a repeat of last year’s semi-final, which Murray won in four sets before going on to lose in the final.
“Stan has played fantastic this tournament so far,” said the Scot, who was beaten by Novak Djokovic in last year’s showpiece.
“Last year when we met he was playing very well and I had to play one of my best matches on clay to beat him.
“It’s not always been easy for me here but the last few years have been great.”
Nine-time champion Rafael Nadal will take on Dominic Thiem in the second semi-final, after the Austrian knocked out defending champion Djokovic.
After impressive wins in the previous two rounds, Murray claimed another fine result, albeit in less clinical fashion.
The pair shared 12 breaks of serve on another blustery Paris day, with Nishikori starting superbly but fading as Murray reeled him in.
Nishikori, 27, broke serve twice to take the first set as his groundstrokes had Murray constantly on the defensive.
Murray’s mood was not improved by an early time violation from umpire Carlos Ramos, but it took another in the second set to fire up the top seed.
The Briton remonstrated with the official before returning to the action, fired by injustice, roaring “Let’s go!” as he clinched the game.
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The first streak of Nishikori brilliance was over and the Japanese player double-faulted to drop serve at 3-1, and then woefully misjudged leaving a ball that landed well inside the baseline to fall 5-1 down.
Nishikori twice fell a break behind with poor service games in the third set only to hit straight back each time, infuriating Murray, who served for the set at 6-5.
It might have been expected to shift the momentum in Nishikori’s favour, but he played a desperate tie-break and Murray reeled off all seven points.
A brilliant piece of trademark Murray scrambling helped secure the decisive break midway through the fourth set and Nishikori’s challenge was as good as over.
“Come on!” screamed Murray as he broke again for a 5-1 lead before closing out the match with one of his easier service games of the afternoon.
Swiss third seed Wawrinka set up another Paris semi-final with Murray after breezing past seventh seed Cilic in the last eight.
The three-time Grand Slam champion, 32, cruised to a 6-3 6-3 6-1 win against the Croatian in an hour and 40 minutes.
Wawrinka, who won the Roland Garros title in 2015, has still not dropped a set in Paris this year.
He is the oldest man to make the last four since Jimmy Connors in 1985.
“It was perfect today, I’m very satisfied,” Wawrinka said after his 12th win in 14 meetings with Cilic.
Russell Fuller, BBC tennis correspondent:
Not a performance which will give Stan Wawrinka a sleepless night, but Andy Murray polished Kei Nishikori off well.
I’ve no idea what will happen on Friday but I will say that Murray is going to have play significantly better if he is going to beat Wawrinka.
Whatever happens, Murray has made greater progress than we thought he would at Roland Garros.
| French Open |
|---|
| Venue: Roland Garros, Paris Dates: 28 May- 11 June |
| Coverage: Listen to live radio commentary and follow text coverage of selected matches on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and online. |
John McEnroe described Novak Djokovic’s final-set capitulation at the French Open as “inexplicable” and questioned the 12-time Grand Slam winner’s desire.
The defending champion, 30, lost 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 6-0 to Austria’s Dominic Thiem – losing a love set at a Slam for the first time since 2005.
The Serb is now without a major title after holding all four 12 months ago.
“I don’t recall seeing a time in the last six to eight years when Novak mailed it in,” McEnroe told BBC Sport.
The American, a seven-time Grand Slam singles champion, added: “He basically gave up.”
Djokovic won just eight points and made 12 errors in the final set of his quarter-final, which lasted 20 minutes.
It was only the ninth time he had lost a set to love in his career, and the first at a Grand Slam since he played Gael Monfils at the US Open 12 years ago.
“It looked in the third set like he just didn’t want to be out there, couldn’t compete any more, and that’s shocking for a guy that’s won as much as he has and prides himself on competition,” added 58-year-old McEnroe.
“It just shows you everyone’s human.
“On paper it was the most interesting quarter but to see it tail off like that is highly surprising.
“If you had told me a year ago, when he was the only guy since Rod Laver holding all four Slams that this is what we’d be talking about now, I’d have told you you were nuts.”
Twelve months on from completing the career Grand Slam in Paris, Djokovic will drop out of the world’s top two for the first time since 2011 in the next rankings.
“For me, it’s a whole new situation that I’m facing,” the Serb said.
“Especially in the last seven, eight months, not winning any tournament, which hasn’t happened in many years.
“I guess you’ve got to go through it, try to learn your lessons and figure out how to get out of it stronger.
“It’s a big challenge, but I’m up for it.”
The 12-time Grand Slam champion alluded to “personal issues” following his shock third-round defeat by Sam Querrey at Wimbledon last year, and injuries then contributed to a drop in form.
Djokovic parted company with coach Boris Becker at the end of 2016 and then the rest of his coaching team, including his long-time confidante Marian Vajda, last month in what he described as “shock therapy”.
He has since been working with Spaniard Pepe Imaz, a former world number 146 who runs a tennis academy based around “peace, love and meditation”, as well as his brother, Marko, a former professional.
“Obviously there have been issues off the court,” said McEnroe. “I don’t know exactly what they’ve been but that’s affected him.
“There’s a let-down [after completing the career Grand Slam] and that’s understandable when you think about it, after you’ve accomplished that you probably have some motivation problems.
“There’s been, I’m assuming, some type of injury issues.
“But all in all, I can’t believe that he seems so lost right now compared to what we saw when he was on top of the world.”
| Djokovic’s damning stats from that final set |
|---|
| 9th ‘bagel’ of his career |
| 20 minutes long |
| 8 points won |
| 2 points won on return |
| 0 forehand or backhand winners |
| 12 errors made |
| 25% points won on his second serve (3) |
Eight-time Grand Slam champion Andre Agassi was added to the team in Paris, although the American was only present for the first three rounds because of prior engagements elsewhere.
“Don’t put Andre in the midst of this,” Djokovic said. “This final set, of course, that’s all me.
“His influence and impact on my game, it’s going to take time.
“It’s not something that comes out in the first week. We have spent seven days together. We just got to know each other.”
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The Serb’s next scheduled tournament is Wimbledon, which starts on 3 July, and he generally does not play a grass-court warm-up event, but has not ruled out taking a break.
“Trust me, I’m thinking about many things, especially in the last couple months,” Djokovic said.
“I’m just trying to sense what’s the best thing for me now.
“Obviously, it’s not an easy decision to make, but I will see how I feel after Roland Garros and then decide what to do next.”