Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka will square off for the 18th time when they take to Court Philippe Chatrier for their second consecutive Roland Garros semi-final against each other on Friday.
Murray, a runner-up in Paris in 2016, has dropped three sets so far this fortnight (to Kuznetsova in R1, Klizan in R2, Nishikori in QF), while Wawrinka is yet to lose a set.
They’re both looking to reach the second Roland Garros of their respective careers.
"They are playing extremely well this season (Rafa, Thiem, Stan) and I came in playing garbage (smiling) " lol Andy :) (🎥Eurosport) pic.twitter.com/u4Ln9KsiGJ
— Rena (@_irenka23_) June 7, 2017
“I came in, playing garbage.” (see video above)
“Obviously when we played last year, it was a 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 tomorrow. He’s been playing very well. He’s not dropped a set here.
“Yeah, he’s obviously played extremely well the last few years at the French, and he’s confident. 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.”
“I don’t think we need extra motivation. When you arrive in the semi-final of a Grand Slam, the motivation is quite high. For me, for me doesn’t change that we played last year and that I lost against him. It’s a new match. It’s a new year. We can see everything is completely different from last year. The week before the tournaments we did some different results, so it’s going to be a great match. It’s always a great challenge to play the World No1 in a Grand Slam.”
“He defeated me last year. He was playing better. He was really playing well last year. I think it will be an interesting match. The conditions are a little different. I think he’s probably a bit less confident. He’s a bit more hesitant. Hopefully I can take advantage of that and find solutions to beat him.”
1 – Murray has won just one of his last eight meetings with top-five opposition at the Grand Slams.
1 – win and four losses for Murray against top-five opposition at Roland Garros. That one loss was against Wawrinka in last year’s semis.
2 – Murray is facing a top-five player this season for just the second time. His only top-five match so far in 2017 was a straight-sets loss to Novak Djokovic in the Doha final.
3 – of the four semi-finalists – Wawrinka, Thiem, Nadal – are yet to drop a set this fortnight. It’s the first time this has happened at a Grand Slam since the 1988 Australian Open, when Pat Cash, Ivan Lendl and Mats Wilander achieved the feat. It’s the first time this has happened at Roland Garros in the Open Era.
3 – wins and two losses for Murray against Wawrinka in Grand Slams.
3 – Wawrinka is one of just three Swiss players to ever reach a Grand Slam final – alongside Roger Federer and Martina Hingis.
3 – wins and five losses for Wawrinka in Grand Slam semi-finals.
4 – Wawrinka is bidding to defeat a world No1 for the fourth time in his career.
4 – Wawrinka has reached the semi-finals at four of the last five Grand Slams. He is through to his ninth Grand Slam semi-final overall.
7 – Murray is looking to become just the 7th man in the Open Era to reach the finals at all four Grand Slam events on multiple occasions.
10 – Wawrinka is bidding to record his 10th straight win and record a new career-best Tour-level winning streak on clay. His current nine-match winning streak includes a title run in Geneva in the week leading up to the French Open.
12 – Murray is bidding to reach his 12th Grand Slam final.
29 – years and 105 days, the average age of the four men’s semi-finalists. It’s the second-highest at Roland Garros in the Open Era (behind 1968, when it was 33 years 224 days).
44 – years since someone as old as Wawrinka has reached the Roland Garros men’s final. At 32 years 75 days, Wawrinka could become the oldest French Open finalist since 33-year-old Niki Pilic finished runner-up here in 1973.
