French Open semifinal between Djokovic and Murray halted due to weather
The men's semifinal match between Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray has been halted due to rain in Paris.
Djokovic controlled the match early, looking as though he'd secure a quick win. Midway though the third set, though, Murray started to mount an impressive comeback. Play will resume sometime on Saturday – an official time has not been announced.
Djokovic earned the first break of the match at 3-all in the first set. From there he set the pace, taking the first set with a 6-3 advantage and doing the same in the second.
Just as the match looked to be winding down, Murray came alive. He earned his first break of the match on Djokovic's 15th service game, giving him a 6-5 lead in the set. He held serve to force a fourth set. The pair battled through marathon, 30-shot rallies, covering nearly every inch of the court.
Leading 1-0 in the fourth set, Djokovic squandered three break point opportunities. Murray broke to go up 2-1, only to let Djokovic immediately break back. At 3-2, Djokovic missed another break point. Murray held on to even it at 3-all.
That's when officials walked out, signaling to the players and the chair umpire that the match would be suspended due to approaching storms. Grounds crews quickly covered the court; minutes later, it started to rain. Even if the rain is just passing through, the match will not be played out on Friday night because there are no lights at Roland Garros.
Each is seeking his first French Open title. Murray lost in the semifinals last year; Djokovic lost in the final two of the past three years. The last time Murray defeated Djokovic was the 2013 Wimbledon final – the Serb has won their last eight meetings, including this year's Australian Open final. Djokovic also rarely loses after jumping out to a two-set lead – the last time he did so was five years ago in Paris.
The match will more than likely be completed on Saturday morning, meaning that the winner will not have a full day of rest before Sunday's final. Stan Wawrinka, winner of the Friday morning semifinal match, will be off on Saturday. Wawrinka defeated hometown favorite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6-3, 6-7, 7-6, 6-4.
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Danielle Elliot is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact her at delliot@yahoo-inc.com or find her on Twitter and Facebook.