James Ward battles past Adrian Mannarino into the semi-finals – AEGON Championships 2011
British wild card entrant James Ward, ranked 216th in the world, continued his dream run as he upset world number 54 Adrian Mannarino of France in three sets 6-2, 6-7(14), 6-4 in the quarterfinals of AEGON Championships
at the Queen’s Club in London on Friday. It took Ward two hours and seven minutes to seal the match.
The Brit came roaring into the match as he broke Mannarino in the third and fifth games of the opening set and consolidated on them to build a 5-1 lead. Serving to stay in the set at 1-5, the French managed to hold his serve and
took the score to 2-5. Ward served out the set in the next game, bagging it 6-2.
Ward hit two aces and 80 percent of the first serves, grabbing 81 percent of the points on them in the first set. The six feet and three inches tall capitalised on two of the six break point opportunities he created on Mannarino’s
serve in the opening set.
In the second set, Ward drew the first blood as he broke his opponent in the seventh game and held his serve in the next game to go ahead 5-3. After that, Mannarino claimed three successive games, breaking the Brit in the tenth
game and taking a 6-5 lead. Ward held his serve at 5-6 to take the set to a tie-break. In an astonishing tie-break, Mannarino saved six match points and went on to win 16-14.
After losing the second set by the closest of margins, Ward failed to hold his opening service game and lost the next game to trail 0-2 in the final set. However, the Brit regained his momentum and broke back in the fourth game
to level the score at 2-2. The next five games went with serve, taking the score to 5-4 in favour of Ward. The Brit rose to the situation and broke Mannarino in the tenth game, winning the third set 6-4.
A jubilant Ward said, after the match, “It’s been unbelievable, the last two matches, obviously the best two wins of my career so far. [My serve] helped me out in a few sticky moments out there. I thought I played all right from
the back, as well. Overall it was a good performance.”
This is the first time in open era that two British men have reached the semi-finals at the Queen’s Club as Andy Murray has also reached the last four stage.
Ward will face another French Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, seeded fifth at the event, in the semi-finals. Tsonga upset top seed Rafael Nadal in three sets 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-1 in the quarterfinals.
Ward said, looking forward to his next match, "I will obviously try and do the same I have been doing against Wawrinka and Querrey, ask a few people and see what they've got for me. But a lot of it depends on my game as well, and
trying to play to my strengths and hope for the best."
This will be the first meeting between Ward and Tsonga. The winner will play either Andy Roddick or Murray in the title match.
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