Murray books Wimbledon semi with defeat of Tsonga
Andy Murray is through to the semi-finals at Wimbledon after defeating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 6-2, 6-2 in the quarter-finals.
After cruising through his opening four matches, Murray faced a much sterner test of his mettle against Tsonga at the start of his quarter-final match as neither player could secure a break of serve in the opening set, with each player just conceding one opportunity to do so.
Murray couldn’t have chosen a worse time to provide the Frenchman with an opening, with a wild swinging volley by the local hope setting up set point for Tsonga, but Murray saved it with a more authoritative showing at the net, before sealing the game with an ace, as the set headed towards a tiebreak.
Tsonga who brought his second set point at 6-4 in the tiebreak (a netted backhand saw that one pass him by as well), but on his third won the exchange of volleys to take the early advantage in the match.
He may have let the first set slide, but Murray quickly gained the upper hand in the second with a netted volley from the 10th seed handing the British No. 1 the first break of the match and the 2-0 advantage in the second.
At 3-1 up in the second, however, Murray found himself facing a double break point chance and though the fourth seed served himself out of trouble to save the first, a second serve on the second allowed Tsonga into the point and he capitalised on the opportunity with a smash, as the second set was suddenly back on serve.
It was enough to ensure the second set too would be decided in a tiebreak, but this time it was Murray who prevailed, with a little help from lady luck as Tsonga made the mistake of leaving his opponent’s defensive return of serve, which landed on the baseline, at 5-5 to hand Murray set point, which he converted to level the match at one set apiece.
The third set was all Murray, with the dual Grand Slam runner-up capitalising on his opponent’s untidy play (he made 13 unforced errors to Murray’s five for the set) breaking the tenth seed twice, then saving break point with a superb crosscourt passing shot as he served for the set before going on to take the 2-1 lead in the match.
The Scot’s charge to the semis gathered still more pace when he secured the break of serve in the opening game of the third set, and broke Tsonga again as he completed what was, in the end, a comprehensive victory over the world No.10.
Murray will now play Rafael Nadal as he attempts to book his place in the Wimbledon final for the first time in his career.
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