PARIS — Stan Wawrinka took on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and 15,000 of his most passionate fans and silenced them all to reach the French Open final for the first time with a 6-3 6-7(1) 7-6(3) 6-4 victory on Friday.
Tsonga's hopes of becoming the first Frenchman to win the title since Yannick Noah in 1983 melted away on the hottest day of the championships -- with the mercury hitting 33 degrees Celsius -- as Wawrinka won the points that mattered.
The Swiss eighth seed lived dangerously throughout, saving 16 of the 17 break points he faced during the gruelling three hour 46 minute contest, and was a mightily relieved man when he fired down an unreturnable serve to end the semi-final.