Novak Djokovic overcomes Andy Murray to enter French Open final
Paris, June 6 (IANS): World No. 1 Novak Djokovic needed two days to overcome third-ranked Andy Murray 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 5-7, 6-1 to book his spot in his third French Open tennis tournament final here on Saturday.
The Serb will aim to become the eighth player to complete the career Grand Slam on Sunday when he squares off against Swiss Stan Wawrinka at the Roland Garros. The career achievement of winning all four major championships in tennis is termed a career Grand Slam.
Djokovic and Murray battled for more than three hours before rain and fading light halted the semi-final on Friday.
The top-seeded Serb-led two sets to one, with the fourth one even at 3-all. Despite Murray snatching the overnight momentum after capturing the third set, it was Djokovic who pulled away when play resumed on Saturday.
Murray's mettle was on full display as he won the fourth set to force a decider, but was ultimately derailed by Djokovic.
With this victory, Djokovic extended his winning streak to 28 straight matches. He reached his 16th Grand Slam final and will bid to join legends Fred Perry, Don Budge, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the exclusive "Career Grand Slam" club.
Murray suffered his first defeat on clay courts this year, having emerged victorious in Munich and Madrid. He registered a semi-final result at the French Open for the third time in the past five years.