Men’s semi-finals day at the French Open promises to light up Roland Garros. World No.1 Andy Murray will be first up when he faces former champion Stan Wawrinka. Then title favourite Rafael Nadal will resume his campaign against Austria’s Dominic Thiem. History lurks for all four men involved, but these are the ten key facts to take note of.
1) Three players are yet to drop a set
On route to the last four at the French Open three out of the four players are yet to drop a set. Nadal, Wawrinka and Thiem have all enjoyed a straightforward journey. World No.1 Murray dropped sets against Andrey Kuznetsov (round 1), Martin Klizan (round 2) and Kei Nishikori (quarter-finals).
It is the first time three players have reached last last four without dropping a set since the 1988 Australian Open. On that occasion it was Pat Cash, Ivan Lendl and Mats Wilander who achieved the feat.
2) The oldest average since 1968
At the age of 23, Dominic Thiem is the baby of the last four. All three other semifinalists are over the age of 30 with Wawrinka being the oldest at 32. Taking into account all four ages, the average is 29 years 105 days. This is the highest average for a men’s French Open semifinal since 1968 and the 14th highest in the Open Era at any grand slam event.
3) Murray’s British record bid
Already the first British player to become world No.1 on the ATP Emirates rankings, a run to the final would also create further history for Murray. A win would make him the second player from his country to ever reach two French Open finals. The first was Fred Perry in 1935 and 1936. Bunny Austin was also runner-up in 1937.
A win would also take the top seed into his 12th grand slam final, expanding his lead with the most appearances achieved by a British man. Perry is second with 10 between 1933-1936.
4) Wawrinka out to prove age is nothing, but a number
A player that produces his best tennis in the biggest tournaments of the sport, 32-year-old Wawrinka could become the oldest finalist in Roland Garros since 1973.
Wawrinka is already the oldest man to reach the last four at Roland Garros since Jimmy Connors in 1985. A win over Murray would place him joint-23rd on the all-time last for most grand slam final appearances.
5) Nadal’s record run
So far in the tournament, Nadal has just dropped a record 22 games. No other player in the Open Era of the men’s tour has managed to progress to the semifinals of a major dropping fewer games.
If he drops four or less games against Thiem on Friday, he will break Bjorn Borg’s record. Borg dropped just 27 games on route to the 1977 French Open final.
6) Thiem’s hope to join an exclusive club in Austrian tennis
Austria’s 22-year wait for a grand finalist could come to an end if Thiem was to defeat Nadal. If he was to win, the 23-year-old would become the second player from his country to reach a major final – male or female.
Thiem is targeting his 29th victory in a major tournament today. He currently lies fourth in the all-time list for most grand slams wins by an Austrian man after Thomas Muster (77), Jurgen Melzer (59) and Stefan Koubek (31).
7) Nadal targets magic No.10
Only two players have ever reached the final of a major tournament ten times. Bill Tilden was the first at the US Open between 1918-1929. More recently, Roger Federer achieved it at Wimbledon between 2003-2012.
Nadal is on verge of becoming the third man to do so. Already a nine-time champion at the French Open, he could become the first man in history to win the same major tournament ten times. With a 77-2 win-loss record at the French Open, Nadal is the tournament’s greatest ever player in terms of performance.
8) Murray’s multiple finals record
Murray could become only the seventh player in history to reach multiple finals at all four major tournaments if he wins today. So far in his career, he has played five finals at the Australian Open, three at Wimbledon, two at the US Open and one at Roland Garros.
Agassi, Djokovic, Federer, Nadal, Lendl and Roswell are the only players to achieve this so far.
9) Wawrinka on the verge of a new personal best
After recently winning his 16th title at the Geneva Open, Wawrinka could achieve his best ever winning streak on the clay with win No.10 over Murray. His quarter-final victory over Marin Cilic rewarded him his ninth straight clay-court win, which he has achieved on three previous occasions in his career.
10) Thiem’s potentially historic win
Should Thiem beat the odds and defeat Rafael Nadal, he would become only the third man in history to defeat Nadal three times on the clay after Novak Djokovic and Gaston Gaudio. He is also the only player to defeat the Spaniard on the surface this year after winning 6-4, 6-3, in Rome.
