Thursday 2 June 2016 10:22, UK
Andy Murray believes he can claim a first French Open title after overcoming an early scare to beat Richard Gasquet and book his place in the last four at Roland Garros.
The world No 2 looked in real trouble at a set and 3-1 down in the second-set tie-break, but won six straight points and from there raced to a 5-7 7-6 (7-3) 6-0 6-2 victory to set up a clash with defending champion Stan Wawrinka.
That match will be his 19th Grand Slam semi-final overall, drawing him level with Stefan Edberg and John McEnroe, and fourth at the French Open, the only major tournament at which he is yet to reach the final.
Murray has never won a set against Wawrinka on clay, but having beaten Novak Djokovic in the final of the Rome Masters recently, he insists he can go all the way this year.
He said: "Last year was similar. I came in not having lost on the clay and played some really good tennis. I believe I can win the event. Whether I do or not, we'll have to wait and see.
"But I believe it's possible and only a couple of matches away now. I'll just give everything I've got the next few days."
As he did in his five-set wins over Radek Stepanek and Mathias Bourgue in the first two rounds, Murray pulled himself back from the brink against Gasquet.
The silence was deafening after Murray won the second-set tie-break to avoid falling two sets behind, but he said: "I have played in worse atmospheres. For sure the crowd were behind him, but it wasn't too bad.
"I was creating a lot of chances and I wasn't taking them. That stretch of five or six points was huge from 3-1 [in the tie-break]. I served a double fault at 2-1 in the tie-break, and then my next two serves were aces.
"I think I played some really good stuff today. Obviously the match could have been maybe more comfortable had I done a bit better serving out the first two sets.
"I finished the match extremely well. It wasn't easy for me. I played two guys where you get zero rhythm, against [Ivo] Karlovic and [John] Isner.
"Then a two-day break where you're barely hitting any balls because of the conditions. Then coming out and playing a completely different match today. I thought I did well for the most part."
Wawrinka, who beat Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-2 6-1 7-6 (9-7) in his quarter-final, said Murray deserves to be considered one of the greats of the game.
"I think he is well ahead of me. Now that I've won a second Grand Slam people say I'm closer to him because I have won two and he's won two as well," said Wawrinka, who was also Australian Open champion in 2014.
"But if you were to compare our two careers he's well ahead of me given all the titles, the finals, No 2 in the world, and he has so many Masters 1000, as well.
"Therefore, as I keep on repeating, he's in the 'Big Four' [with Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal]. There is a reason for this. Maybe he has fewer titles than the other three, but he's always been with them during the semis, the finals. His career is very, very impressive."
