Richard Gasquet stunned fourth seeded French Open winner Stan Wawrinka 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 11-9 to set-up a Wimbledon semi-final clash against defending champion Novak Djokovic.
It will be 21st seed Gasquet’s second appearance in the semi-finals, eight years after his first.
But he will have his work cut out to beat Djokovic who has an 11-1 career record over the Frenchman.
Gasquet had a chance to wrap up the quarter-final in the ninth game of the decider when he was just two points from victory.
WATCH @richardgasquet1 floored by his heroics in marathon win over Wawrinka #Wimbledon http://t.co/PvbCtSRDqH
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 8, 2015
But despite Wawrinka clawing his way back, the 29-year-old claimed victory on a third match point when, for once, the Swiss star’s fabled one-handed backhand let him down.
It was tough on Wawrinka who fired 22 aces and 73 winners but was undone by 48 unforced errors.
“It was tough and I made some mistakes. He had big confidence after Paris and I had to fight. I really wanted to win. It’s a great feeling as it’s a big match,” said Gasquet.
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On tackling Djokovic, the Frenchman added: “It will be tough but I’m happy with how I’ve played today and I’ll try to play my best again against the best player in the world.”
Gasquet took the first set on the back of a break in the seventh game.
Gasquet: “I really wanted it. It was tough after leading 5-3 but I kept fighting. It would’ve been difficult to lose” pic.twitter.com/HhhTicPGDi
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 8, 2015
But Wawrinka, bidding to make the last four at Wimbledon for the first time at the 11th attempt, hit back in the 10th game of the second to level the tie.
The 30-year-old swiftly moved two sets to one to the good courtesy of a break in the fourth game of the third.
But with victory in sight, a double fault on set point, his first of the tie, allowed Gasquet to send the quarter-final into the final set decider.
