Andy Murray faces Stan Wawrinka for a place in the men's French Open final
Nine-time champion Rafael Nadal faces Dominic Thiem in second semi-final at Roland Garros
Friday 9 June 2017 11:15, UK
World No 1 Andy Murray is expecting a "very tough" French Open semi-final encounter with Stan Wawrinka as he goes in search of a second successive Paris final.
Murray has worked himself into form following a nervy first win against Andrey Kuznetsov, but further victories against Martin Klizan, Juan Martin del Potro, Karen Khachanov and Kei Nishikori have put him in good stead ahead of a crunch showdown against Swiss 2015 champion Wawrinka on Friday.
He will be aiming to repeat last year's victory over Wawrinka, who is yet to drop a set and crushed in-form Marin Cilic to reach the last four.
The top seed said: "When we played last year, it was a similar situation coming in. I think Stan had played really well.
"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 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. It should be an interesting match."
Wawrinka, at 32, is the oldest semi-finalist at Roland Garros since Jimmy Connors in 1985, and said: "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.
"When you have a lot of wins behind you and confidence with your game, you can go for more. That's what he did last year, for sure.
"I expect him to try to do the same because that's always how he is trying to play against me, to be aggressive.
"But I think I will answer with my game. I think I'm playing better than last year, also. It can be only a big challenge and hopefully a good match."
Dominic Thiem is under no illusions about the size of the task ahead of him as he faces Rafael Nadal in the second semi-final.
Having lost to Nadal heavily in Barcelona and then narrowly in Madrid, the 23-year-old showed his growing maturity on clay by winning his last match against the Spaniard, in the quarter-finals of the Rome Masters three weeks ago.
"It's going to be the fourth match against him in five or six weeks," said Thiem. "There's not really big secrets. He's again in his best shape. So it's going to be the toughest match you can imagine."
Nadal has dropped only 22 games in five matches on an apparently unstoppable march to a record 10th title, but he is expecting another testing encounter.
"Thiem is a tough player," said Nadal. "I won in Barcelona, Madrid, and I lost to him in Rome. We can talk about statistics for hours, but what is important is to consider the match.
"If I play well, I hope that I will be able to book my spot in the final. If I don't play well, I will be out of the tournament.
"He hits the ball very hard. He's very powerful on both sides. Forehand, backhand, serve. He has a huge potential to tap.
"In Rome it was not a good day for me. I was not in a position to play the way I wanted to. He put me in a difficult situation, so it's up to me to avoid being put in uncomfortable situations.
"I am in the semi-finals and with very positive feelings. I played well all the matches here."
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