Andy Murray vs. Stan Wawrinka: Score and Reaction from 2016 French Open

Second seed Andy Murray earned a berth in the 2016 French Open final with a four-set victory (6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2) Friday over No. 3 seed and defending champion Stan Wawrinka.

Murray, who was pushed to five sets in each of his first two tournament matches, rebounded and put together one of his best performances of the year in the semifinals. His serving was nothing short of outstanding and, aside from a one-game lapse late in the third set, his shot-making baffled Wawrinka.

The victory sends him into a championship clash with top-ranked Novak Djokovic, who’s looking to complete the career Grand Slam, on Sunday.

Murray came into the match as a slight favorite after coming back from a couple of early tournament scares to reach the penultimate round. BBC Sport noted he understood it would take a terrific effort to knock out the event’s reigning champion.

“Stan is obviously playing great tennis,” Murray said. “It is going to be extremely difficult, [but] hopefully I can play my best tennis and reach my first final here.”

He ended up doing exactly that to punch his ticket to the championship match.

The Swiss star missed an opportunity to gain immediate control of the first set. He had a break point to grab a 2-0 lead after holding at love in his opening service game, but Murray managed to survive following an extended battle at deuce.

As is often the case in those situations, a player who just missed a chance at a break tends to lose focus in the very next game. Sure enough, the No. 2 seed took advantage of a brief lapse from the defending champion to earn the only break of the first set.

Murray served it out from there, navigating a storm in the final game that included three break points to put Wawrinka in a hole for the first time since Round 1.

Stuart Fraser of the Daily Mail noted it also ended two streaks that would be considered troublesome for the Scottish sensation coming into the match:

Andy Murray wins his first ever set against Stan Wawrinka on clay. And big to stop the rot with first set in last eight played vs the Swiss.

— Stuart Fraser (@stu_fraser) June 3, 2016

Brad Gilbert of ESPN pointed out the key was Murray’s well-rounded …

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