As a smiling Stan Wawrinka warmed up in the Parisian sunshine on an adjacent court, he was no doubt happy in the knowledge that he would be done and dusted while his opponent in Sunday was hard at work on the clay.

All credit to the French Federation and the tournament, as they sought to allow people with tickets from last night’s match in after having previously told them that only Saturday’s tickets would be honored. After all, playing at a French lunchtime has always resulted in swathes of seats left empty, and the occasion perhaps demanded something a little better.

Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic took to the court after the sudden halt to their match on Friday evening as a storm built up and headed with purpose to Roland Garros. It was absolutely imperative that Murray got off to a confident, nay quick, start over the world No. 1. The first three games were all to love, as the gentlemen had come to play.

The first man to blink surprisingly was Djokovic, as Murray broke and served out the fourth set to force a decider. The crowd loved it, but there the drama ended as Djokovic grabbed the momentum and sprinted off with it, swiftly building up a 3-0 lead.

The ghost of bagel sets started to loom large once more. Three times Murray has faced Djokovic this year, and twice he has been overpowered in the final set with the dreaded bagel scoreline. This time, he was at least able to get on the scoreboard. But any hopes that he would be able to stay in contention evaporated rapidly as Djokovic pressed on to claim the fifth set 6-1 after a semifinal that lasted four hours and nine minutes.

Murray said after the match, “Last night before we came off, the crowd were really into it and it was a good atmosphere. I was obviously motivated to come out today and try to turn the match around. I played a loose game on my serve the first game of the [final] set with the new balls. I missed I think three balls long in that game. Then, I think Novak relaxed a little bit after that, and he hit the ball extremely [accurately].”

Djokovic was no doubt relieved to have limited his time on court as he faces an opponent on Sunday who has pulled him to five-set encounters on the last four occasions they have met in a Grand Slam.

“I'm very glad that I managed to finish this match as a winner,” said Djokovic.  “I was hoping I can do it before, but I don't think I have done too much wrong, even today in the fourth set. He just came up with some great shots, great points.”

The most recent encounter between Djokovic and Wawrinka was this year at the Australian Open semifinal, where Djokovic got some element of revenge from having been deposed by last year’s champion when he repaid the favour.

Wawrinka will have a point to prove, having struggled with the pressure that invariably comes with attaining one’s first Grand Slam. Even Djokovic admitted that he found it hard to mentally adjust, finally winning his second Grand Slam in Australia three years after his first.

The final will be played on Court Philippe-Chatrier on Sunday.