PARIS (AP) Rafael Nadal arrived at the French Open having won 17 of 18 clay-court matches this season. He also happens to be a nine-time champion at Roland Garros.
His opponent in Friday’s semifinals, Dominic Thiem, entered the year’s second Grand Slam tournament with some success on the surface, too, reaching a pair of finals and handing Nadal that lone loss.
Stan Wawrinka, the 2015 champion and another semifinalist this year, was coming off a clay title at the Geneva Open the week before play began in Paris.
And what about Andy Murray, who meets Wawrinka on Friday in a rematch of the 2016 French Open semifinals?