He huffed and puffed but Jo-Wilfried Tsonga said the finish line was too far as he narrowly lost out to Andy Murray in the Wimbledon quarter-finals.
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The way he dug deep to subdue Tsonga’s onslaught after surrendering a two-set lead spoke volumes for Murray’s refusal to buckle in the face of adversity – a characteristic exemplified by a formidable 23-7 record in matches that have gone the five-set distance.
“It was a tough match”.
“Tsonga’s one of the best grass-court players in the world”.
The 30-year-old, who blasted Pouille off Court One with 35 winners and 10 aces, is the third Czech man to reach multiple Wimbledon semi-finals after Ivan Lendl and Jan Kodes.
Earlier this year, he even suffered the humiliation of a 6-0 6-0 whitewash by David Goffin in Rome but Murray will not be taking anything for granted as he bids to become the first British man to win multiple Wimbledon titles since Fred Perry claimed a hat-trick from 1934-36. “It was wonderful and I was very happy to feel as strong as I did”.
He ended a scintillating 20-stroke rally with a volley to move 6-4 ahead in the breaker, but Murray replied with an ace and devilish service return to set up a routine pass.
“I can not believe Roger Federer won that match”.
Murray looked exhausted after the gruelling five-set encounter, but smiled at the suggestion the country’s emotional well-being now lay on his shoulders.
“It’s important to try to use the crowd, if you can, to your advantage, because they do make a difference”, he said.
Murray had barely had a dip in four matches and, after Roger Federer’s epic comeback to beat Marin Cilic earlier on Centre Court, went into the match as the only player left in the men’s draw not to have dropped a set.
“Next thing you know, it’s like you’re in the semis”.
“That was the first time (I showed) myself that I can play well for two weeks”, Berdych said. “He did it twice, and then it was tough to come back in this set”.
“The only thing that still gets me nervous is when I see the legends of tennis sitting watching my match”.
The world number two is through to the last four at the All England Club for the seventh time in the last eight years and will play Tomas Berdych on Friday.
“If I managed to get ahead in the third, I think maybe it could have been a bit different”, said Murray.
Murray was told by a reporter he was the nation’s last hope after England, Northern Ireland and Wales’ exit from the European Championships. “That was a really hard match to come through”.
“My back, now that I have been looking after it, doing way more different types of stretching, sort of injury prevention work, my back is no issue whatsoever”.
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He has every reason to go into his meeting with Tsonga full of confidence having won 12 of their 14 meetings, but Murray is deeply respectful of the Frenchman’s ability, particularly on this surface which suits his flamboyant, powerful game.
