Wawrinka and Murray to Do Battle Again
As two of the most powerful and talented plaers on the ATP Circuit, it’s no surprise to see Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka back at the last four of a tournament. This time, they will be taking on each other at Roland Garros as a rematch comes around on Friday. As one of the most anticipated matches of the tournament, it will be interesting to see how two stars who have struggled on clay in many aspects come to terms with playing an opponent of such a similar level.
At the semi-finals last year, Murray overcame his Swiss opponent in a thrilling four set event, with this one sure to be living up to the same level of expectation. Given that Murray had fallen at the quarter-finals in three of his last four clay events, though, the fact he is even here is a testament to his character and desire to play on even when not at his best.
Despite having bad games against Andrey Kuznetsov and Martin Klizan, Murray has found a way to win so far – and could do the same again when he comes up against a player of his own standing. Admitting that he has been “playing garbage” before the tournament, it’s fair to say that the Scot is quite pleased about how far he has come given low expectation pre-tournament.
Wins over the likes of Juan Martin del Potro, Karen Khachanov and Kel Nishikori were huge for the Scotsman, helping him to find a new level of commitment heading into the later stages. Wins in such circumstances tend to have a positive net effective on performance, as can clearly be seen by his elite return to form in the last few days.
That being said, Wawrinka hardly has himself in top form on clay with a 2-3 record to start with. However, he’s now won 9 matches on the spin and could make it 10 with another victory and a Final place. His motivation and desire to keep going is going to be the main obstacle for Murray: Wawrinka is known for being able to deal with even the most outrageous levels of adversity.
Overall, this promises to be a cracker. Both players bring a lot to the table and it’s going to be interesting to see who can come out of this and reach the Final.
