Andy Murray Fails to Reach 2017 French Open Finals After Stan Wawrinka Upset

Stan Wawrinka beat Andy Murray in a five-set instant classic during the 2017 French Open semi-finals on Friday, winning 6-7 (6), 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (3), 6-1.

The two served up an epic encounter that had fans on the edge of their seats, and Wawrinka's superior fitness proved the difference as he dominated a fatigued Murray in the final set.

The first set was a back-and-forth affair that lasted 68 minutes as both players flashed their immense talent. While Wawrinka appeared to have the upper hand in the rallies, his opponent played cleaner tennis, not making many mistakes.

That proved crucial in the tiebreak, which was very close but eventually went Murray's way following a poor return from the Swiss star.

David Law of BBC5Live loved what he was seeing:

The tournament's official Twitter account warned fans they could be in for a long afternoon:

Per the tournament's official website, Wawrinka hit 23 unforced errors in that opening set, and by cleaning up his play, he improved dramatically in the second. A poor double-fault from Murray in the seventh game gave Wawrinka the opening he needed, as he grabbed the break and didn't lose a single game the rest of the set.

Per Live Tennis, he continued his momentum into the third set:

But with his back against the wall, Murray shifted gears, turning a 3-0 deficit in the third set into a 4-4 thriller. The Scot perhaps should have grabbed the break in the following game, letting his opponent off the hook, but he turned in a phenomenal 11th game and served for the advantage in the 12th.

The Press Association's Eleanor Crooks wondered what sort of impact the third set had on Wawrinka's mental stability:

Wawrinka held to 15 to start the fourth, and once again, both players showed their considerable talent as the match turned into even more of a marathon. Murray forced his opponent into several tricky situations, but Wawrinka didn't budge, pushing his advantage to 4-3 after a monstrous game.

Another tiebreak followed, in which a few crucial mistakes from Murray handed Wawrinka three set points. He only needed one, forcing a decider.

More from Law:

Murray seemed to struggle with fatigue to start the final set, as Wawrinka broke in the first game before a dominant hold. Another break took his advantage to 3-0, and Murray appeared in dire straits.

Wawrinka kept up the high pace and soon found himself serving for the match, but Murray wasn't done, grabbing an unlikely break to prolong the set. The comeback ended there, however, as Wawrinka finished the job in the following game.

Dominic Thiem and Rafael Nadal will contest the other semi-final on Friday.