Stan Wawrinka beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3 6-7 7-6 6-4
The wait for a French hero at their home tournament goes on, after Stan Wawrinka dashed the hopes of a nation in defeating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in four sets yesterday. Instead it will be the Swiss number two who will face either favourite Novak Djokovic or Andy Murray in Sunday's final at Roland Garros.
Noah in 1983
Not since the defiant Yannick Noah lifted the Coupe des Mousquetaires in 1983, overcoming Mats Wilander in three sets, has there been a home winner. Tsonga had hoped to set the record straight against his 30-year-old opponent but ultimately came up fractionally short in a 6-3 6-7 (1-7) 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 defeat.
By reaching the last-four he emulated his achievement from 2013, with David Ferrer the man to prosper on that occasion, but was far closer this time around to making the final.
Temperatures soared
Both players had to endure soaring temperatures in the French capital, with thermometers suggesting 30C and above. It didn't seem to be concerning the Swiss player greatly as he broke Tsonga's serve in the very first game, maintaining his advantage to take the first set.
Tie-break success
History seemed to be repeating itself at the start of the second set, as another break was earned by Wawrinka. This time he faltered however, as his usually reliable service showed signs of weakness to allow Tsonga back into the match.
The Frenchman extended the set into the lottery of the tie-break, which he took in confident style.
Set three crucial
With the match back in the balance at a set apiece, set three became the crucial stage of the semi-final. Court Philippe Chatrier came alive at the prospect of Tsonga making further inroads into his rival's self-belief, yet as hard as he tried the breakthrough would not come.
His own serve seemed consistent, but the stream of chances on the Swiss player's delivery were not taken. Another tie-break was the almost inevitable result, but this time it was Tsonga who made the mistakes on his backhand wing to lose the set.
Clinical Wawrinka
Perhaps ruing the missed opportunities he had already had, Tsonga allowed his opponent to break again early in the fourth set, a double-fault proving costly to his overall chances.
The Frenchman continued to press to get the break back, but Wawrinka repelled the threats to hold his serve and his nerve to close out the match.
Tsonga's missed chances
The French player was left to rue a telling statistic of 17 break points on the Wawrinka serve, yet only one was converted. Just one or two more and the outcome could have been all so different. As it is, he will need to regroup and prepare for the grass court season now with the additional carrot of a Davis Cup tie against the Brits, including Andy Murray, at Queen's tacked on to his impending schedule.
Wawrinka is 'only' seeded eighth on the current rankings but has the weaponry to battle with the best, as highlighted when he took Djokovic to five sets in the Australian Open semi-final this year.
He has just the one Grand Slam to show for his efforts so far, the Australian Open title in 2014, but seems to be in the mood to improve on that this week. The extension of the Djokovic-Murray semi-final into a second day may help him in the long run, although the focus as ever in a final is generally to focus on your own game and let the rest take care of itself.
