Impossible to predict the Andy Murray-Stan Wawrinka winner

11:31 AM ET

It’s amazing how some potential matchups that don’t get the synapses firing and lights flashing when the draw is made can end up looking compelling.

The must-see semifinal this week at the French Open was supposed to be between top-seeded Novak Djokovic and No. 4 Rafael Nadal (until the Spaniard withdrew last week). It threw shade on the potential meeting between No. 2 Andy Murray and No. 3 Stan Wawrinka. But here they are, ready to go.

There’s nothing cut-rate or second-best about it.

Get ready to see Episode 16 (Murray leads 8-7) in one of the best, if least-celebrated, rivalries in tennis.

Here are five key questions about the matchup:

1. Can Murray stop the bleeding?

Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka haven’t squared off in a clay match in three years. USA TODAY Sports, EPA

Murray and Wawrinka have faced each other on clay just three times and only once since the spring of 2008. The last dirt encounter came at the Monte Carlo Masters in 2013 with Wawrinka, the defending champion in Paris, winning with ease, 6-1, 6-2.

Given those details, this might not seem like the ideal place for Murray to begin turning around that record of clay-court frustration. It is, after all, a long and colorful saga independent of this rivalry.

On the plus side for Murray, his triumph over Djokovic in the Rome final about three weeks ago, and his daring escapes in the first two rounds at Roland Garros, certainly paid a confidence dividend. And there’s this: For all his struggles on clay, Murray has been to the semis at Roland Garros in three of his past four appearances. If not here, then where?

2. Can Murray blunt Wawrinka’s offense?

The reason Djokovic doesn’t have his career Grand Slam yet is simple: Wawrinka’s offense. The bearish Swiss who spent so …

continue reading in source espn.go.com