While it may not have been the result the vast majority of those in attendance were hoping for, in the end Stan Wawrinka simply proved to be too much for Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to overcome during Semi-Final action at the 2015 French Open. 

In what was at times a rather sloppy match, the 2014 Australian Open champ still managed to reach the second Grand Slam Final of his career thanks to a 6-3, 6-7(1), 7-6 (3), 6-4 victory over the fan-favourite. While Tsonga was one of the great stories of this year’s event, the talented Frenchman struggled to find his peak level for much of the afternoon, as both players battled the elements on what was an extremely warm day over at Roland Garros.

After facing three break points during the opening game of the match and finding a way to survive, Wawrinka wasted little time in taking advantage of his good fortune. As per usual, the No. 8 seed used his devastating backhand to grab a 3-1 lead, delivering a pair of breath-taking winners to earn the first break of serve in the match. Though Tsonga tried his best to battle back, his opponent would have none of it, closing out the set in just thirty-five minutes.

To his credit, the No. 14 seed did manage to overcome an early break of serve in set number two and in turn play Wawrinka to what was essentially a standstill over the next hour or so of action. With the crowd clearly on his side and his confidence growing with each and every point, Tsonga went on to make a mockery of the tiebreak and within a blink-of-an-eye, was back on level terms.

As the heat started to take its toll on the players, the third set saw a slip in form from both and not surprisingly it led to yet another tiebreak. While Tsonga cruised to a comfortable win in the first, it was Wawrinka who took the final four points of this one, courtesy of some more brilliant shot-making from the backhand wing and a couple of very productive trips to the net.

Despite his best efforts to push this to a fifth and deciding set, Tsonga simply had nothing left to give and the Swiss No. 2 needed a single break of serve to close this one out and take that next step towards possibly earning the second major of what is quickly becoming a rather impressive career. While his numbers are dwarfed compared to those of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal he is the one player currently on tour who has shown the ability to hold his own against the "Big Four" over the last couple of years.