2017 French Open: 'Garbage man' Andy Murray never expected to reach semis

World No. 1 Andy Murray entered the 2017 French Open with the fifth best odds to go the distance, behind the likes of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Dominic Thiem and Stan Wawrinka. Two weeks later, the Briton is just a match away from reaching his second consecutive final at Roland Garros.

On Wednesday, Murray came through in four sets (2-6, 6-1, 7-6, 6-1) to beat eighth seed Kei Nishikori in the quarter-final to set up a semi-final clash against Wawrinka, the 2015 French Open winner. Last year, Murray became the first British male to reach a Roland Garros final since Bunny Austin in 1937. On paper, odds makers don't expect him to beat Nadal or Wawrinka but the Scot has made a career out of proving detractors wrong.

When Murray began his 2017 French Open campaign with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, 6-0 victory over Russian Andrey Kuznetsov, it was only his fifth victory since February. Murray had a career year in 2016, reaching the finals of the first three Grand Slams besides winning the Wimbledon and ATP World Tour Finals. That amazing stretch propelled Murray to World No. 1 status but illness and injury have contributed to his poor form in recent months. A week before the French Open, Murray was affected by a viral illness.

Andy Murray: 'Not competing with Stan over Slam numbers'

"Rafa's had a great clay-court season, as has Thiem. Stan this tournament has played great. He won in Geneva so is obviously confident. I came in playing garbage. I'm the odd one out in the semis, but hopefully I can keep it up. Obviously if someone had offered me a semi-final spot before the tournament, I would have signed up for that because I was not playing well at all. And practice also was not good. It's been really good so far. I want to keep going," Murray said on the eve of his match against Wawrinka, via The Independent.

On Thursday, Murray wrote in a column for BBC that he was not competing with Wawrinka over Grand Slam numbers. Incidentally, both players have won three Slams each in the era of the Big 3. "Trying to win tournaments I've never won before is a huge motivation, but I'm not trying to compete with Stan Wawrinka in terms of the numbers. I know Stan - who I face in the semi-final on Friday - and we have both won three Grand Slams but I don't compare myself with other players in that sense. It's not what I'm playing for."

Could Andy Murray become the first Briton to life the Roland Garros men's trophy since Fred Perry in 1935? Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem will lock horns in the other semi-final on Friday. Nadal and Wawrinka are currently on course to reach Sunday's final, per latest betting odds.