Top seed Andy Murray lost out to Swiss Stan Wawrinka 6-7, 6-3, 7-5, 7-6, 6-1 in the semi-final at Roland Garros on Friday.
The Scottish world No 1 took the first set in a tie-break 8-6 after he had exchanged breaks of serve with his Swiss opponent during a tight set.
Wawrinka came back strongly in the second set, taking it 6-3 during a six-game winning streak.
The third set was a roller-coaster affair with several breaks of serve before Murray took it 7-5.
Wawrinka restored parity when he prevailed 7-3 in the fourth-set tie-break, forcing a deciding set.
The third seed then moved up a gear as Murray looked to have run out of gas, storming into a 5-0 lead.
Murray then found some reserves of energy to break the Wawrinka serve. However, that just prolonged the inevitable as Wawrinka broke again to take the set 6-1.
It’s incredible to be in another Roland Garros final,” said Wawrinka, the oldest finalist since 33-year-old Niki Pilic was runner-up in 1973.
“I was hesitant in trying to finish the first and third sets, but I felt like I could retake control.
“Andy always makes you play another ball. He makes you play badly. It was a great atmosphere which makes you give it your all.”
Rafael Nadal became only the third man in history to make 10 appearances in the final at one grand slam tournament with a dominant 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 victory over Dominic Thiem in the French Open semi-finals.
Thiem, the sixth-seeded Austrian was the only man to beat Nadal on clay this season.
However, Nadal comfortably took the first set 6-3 and the clinical Spaniard showed no signs of letting up in the second, breaking early to take it 6-4.
The punishment continued as Nadal overpowered his younger opponent to ease to the victory with six games in a row in the third and final set.
“I have been playing a great event but Stan has been playing unbelievable,” Nadal said.
“I saw him play earlier and he hit the ball super hard. I needed to be at my best.”
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