He played at a supremely high level to crush a demoralised Nick Kyrgios in the fourth round and will look to do the same against another risky player, Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. “You’re our last hope, Andy”.
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“That was something I started doing a lot more of when I had my back surgery (in 2013)”, he said.
Asked if he was applying himself fully, the 15th seed shook his head and, when asked if that was something he wanted to address, he replied: “I don’t know”.
Five-time champion Venus takes on Kazakhstan’s Yaroslava Shvedova after becoming the oldest Wimbledon women’s quarter-finalist for 22 years.
Murray lost only one more game and closed out a 7-6 (10), 6-1, 3-6, 4-6, 6-1 victory after almost four hours.
The Scot beat the 12th seed in the quarter-finals in 2010 and the semi-finals two years later, both in four sets.
The British crowd were relaxed at this point as their man looked to be strolling towards the semi-finals and a step closer to a potential second Wimbledon title. He also won the U.S. Open in 2012.
Then Murray looked full of tension at the start of the fourth, while Tsonga was swinging freely, but it was the home hope who struck first, breaking to lead 4-2.
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.
Cilic saved two break points in the fifth game and took the set 7-6 (4).
The Czech 10th seed ended Frenchman’s Lucas Pouille’s unexpected love-affair with Wimbledon in straight sets, 7-6 (4) 6-3 6-2.
France’s Lucas Pouille, the 32nd seed, has also reached the quarter-finals at SW19 for the first time. They have, though, never played on grass, and Murray admitted it could be a tight affair.
Seven-time champion Roger Federer admits 2001 Wimbledon victor Goran Ivanisevic will prove a formidable opponent in his quarter-final against Marin Cilic even though the colourful Croatian retired 12 years ago. A few of the sets came down to just a couple of points.
The third-seeded Swiss is, at 34, the oldest man in the semi-finals since 39-year-old Ken Rosewall finished runner-up to Jimmy Connors in 1974.
Federer will play Milos Raonic in the semifinals on Friday.
“I think at the beginning, he was a bit more defensive, you know, playing a little bit more just waiting what’s the opponent going to do”.
Federer won the third set 6-3 after losing the first two 7-6 (4), 6-4.
He will face another big-server, Canadian Milos Raonic, for a place in Sunday’s final.
Raonic made the semi-finals in 2014 and has brought in John McEnroe to help steer him to a first major.
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Rafael Nadal did not play in the tournament because of a wrist injury and Novak Djokovic bowed out in round three, leaving Andy Murray and Roger Federer as the top two title favorites heading into the second week. Cilic admitted it was a mental battle and that Federer served exquisitely.
