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SPORTS Saturday 10 June 2017
French Open tive matches. “I know that Wawrinka’s marathon

mentally, when I’m there, against Murray wound its
Continued from Page 17
it’s difficult to beat me.” way through spots in which
He has dropped a measly A year ago at the French one player, then the other,
total of 29 games through Open, Wawrinka lost to appeared to wrest control,
six matches, back to his Murray in the semifinals. then cede it.
dominating best on clay This time, Wawrinka wore When Wawrinka hit a re-
after withdrawing from the down the seemingly tireless flex volley passing winner
French Open before the Murray, also a three-time off a blink-and-you-miss-it
third round a year ago with major champion. Wawrin- exchange with both men
an injured left wrist. ka used his sublime one- at the net, he held a set
“I don’t care about the handed backhand and point at 6-5 in the first-set

Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka returns the ball to Britain’s Andy Murray during their semifinal match
of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium, Friday, June 9, 2017 in Paris.
Associated Press

games I lost or not, or sets, hammer of a forehand to tiebreaker. At that mo-
or these kind of things,” send Murray scrambling ment, each man had won
Nadal said. “Only thing I and sliding all over Court 43 points, their contrasting
care (about) is I have been Philippe Chatrier. styles essentially erasing
playing very well during Murray would lean, or each other.
the whole event.” even lunge, and some- But Wawrinka missed a
It will be Nadal’s 22nd how put his racket strings backhand to give away
Grand Slam final overall, on seemingly unreachable that chance. Murray used
breaking a tie with Novak shots. He used plenty of a three-point run to grab
Djokovic for second be- drop shots and lobs. He re- that set, the first lost by
hind Roger Federer’s 28. If trieved overheads. Wawrinka all tournament.
Nadal wins the champion- But make no mistake: Then Wawrinka used a sev-
ship on Sunday, it’ll be his Wawrinka does not dis- en-game run to take the
15th at a major, breaking courage easily. He is the second set, plus a 3-0 lead
a tie with Pete Sampras for oldest man in a French in the third.
second behind Federer’s Open title match since Niki “I lost my way a little bit,”
18. Pilic was 33 when he was Murray said.
Wawrinka, meanwhile, the runner-up to Ilie Nas- Suddenly, he got back on
heads to his fourth Grand tase in 1973. track, taking the third set to
Slam final. He’s won the By the anticlimactic close nose in front.
previous three, beating of what Murray termed “a The fourth was even as can
Nadal at the Australian very high-intensity match,” be until Wawrinka stepped
Open in 2014, and Djokovic he was complaining aloud up in the tiebreaker by win-
at Roland Garros two years about having “no legs.” ning its final three points,
ago and the U.S. Open last So Wawrinka ran away the last with a run-around
September. with the fifth set, taking 16 forehand return winner
“I’m extremely confident of the first 21 points and delivered from outside the
about what I do, about going up 5-0. He capped doubles alley.
how I feel, about all the it, appropriately, with a Wawrinka pointed to his
hard work I have accom- backhand down the line, right temple, as he often
plished over the past days, his 87th winner of the day, does to celebrate success
weeks, months, years,” 51 more than Murray. on key points, and was on
said Wawrinka, winner of Unlike Nadal’s straightfor- his way to the final. Nadal
a career-best 10 consecu- ward sprint past Thiem, awaits.q