Murray Outlasts Tsonga To Reach Wimbledon Final Four
The second match on Centre Court at Wimbledon on Wednesday looked eerily similar to the one before it. Earlier in the day, Roger Federer came back from two sets down to beat Marin Cilic, and afterwards Andy Murray won the first two sets against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, only to see Tsonga rally to force a deciding fifth set.
But Murray made sure he wouldn’t blow his lead, turning up his intensity and dominating the final set, outlasting Tsonga 7-6(10), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 to reach the Wimbledon semifinals for the seventh time in his career.
“I fought, I tried, I believed,” Murray said afterwards. “At the end I got it done. So it was great on so many levels.”
In the fifth set, Murray displayed some outstanding return skills, breaking for a 2-0 lead after a backhand volley winner. After a hold, Murray broke one more time thanks to a few unforced errors from Tsonga, to establish a commanding 5-0 lead.
Two games later, the 2013 champion closed things out on his first match point.
“Tsonga’s one of the best grass-court players in the world. He came up with some unbelievable passing shots on the run in big moments, started returning better. He mixed it up well, so credit him for fighting his way back into the match,” Murray told BBC Sport. “He played extremely well. That first set was a tough one for him to lose, and I ran away with the second, but he fought right until the end.
It was a great match.”
Murray will take on Czech Tomas Berdych in the semifinals. Berdych ousted 32nd seeded Frenchman Lucas Pouille 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-2 earlier in the day to book his final four spot.
