ANDY MURRAY HOLDS OFF JO TSONGA, JOINS ROGER FEDERER, MILOS RAONIC, AND TOMAS BERDYCH IN WIMBLEDON TENNIS SEMIFINALS

Written by: Staff on 6th July 2016

ANDY MURRAY HOLDS OFF JO TSONGA, JOINS ROGER FEDERER, MILOS RAONIC, AND TOMAS BERDYCH IN WIMBLEDON TENNIS SEMIFINALS

epa05410526 A general view of No.1 Court during the men's quarter finals of the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 06 July 2016. EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO COMMERCIAL SALES |

By Ricky Dimon

Semifinal Friday at Wimbledon will feature two of the proverbial “Big 4″ in the men’s game. It almost had zero.

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. Both Murray and Federer came dangerously close to joining Nadal and Djokovic on the sidelines, but a dramatic day on Centre Court saw the 34-year-old Swiss saved three match points to overcome Marin Cilic 6-7(4), 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(9), 6-3. Murray followed up Federer’s heroics by outlasting Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6(10), 6-1, 3-6, 4-6, 6-1.

Andy Murray of Britain plays Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France in their quarter final match during the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 06 July 2016. EPA/HANNAH MCKAY

The second-ranked Scot seemed to be in cruise control after serving up a breadstick in the second set, but he ran into serious trouble thereafter. Not only did Murray lose the third and the fourth, but he also faced a break point in the opening game of the fifth. But Tsonga’s missed opportunity for a quick lead in the decider proved to be his undoing. The Frenchman promptly lost five games in a row before finally holding for 1-5. It was nothing more than a meaningless hold, because Murray quickly served out the proceedings to clinch victory after three hours and 53 minutes.

The 2013 Wimbledon champion finished with twice as many winners (46) as unforced errors (23) while striking 14 aces to Tsonga’s 15.

“I could have won it in four sets,” Murray noted. “But, you know, he came up with some really good stuff when he needed it…. Today was a tough match. It would have been easy to have gotten very down on myself in that fifth set after the way the fourth set ended. I was happy with that. Then you also have to be able to play good tennis in the most important moments. I think both of us did that today.”

“The finish line was far (away) tonight,” Tsonga said. “I came back strong on the third and fourth, but I didn’t play well in the fifth. Andy was a little better than me in this last set.”

There was no deciding set necessary in Milos Raonic vs. Sam Querrey and Tomas Berdych vs. Lucas Pouille. Querrey, who upset Djokovic last Saturday, fell to Raonic 6-4, 7-5, 5-7, 6-4. Berdych rolled over Pouille 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-2.

“It feels great,” the Czech commented. “It’s great to be in the semis again. But there’s still a lot left to play.”

Whatever is left, it will hard to beat what transpired Wednesday on Centre Court.

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Milos Raonic of Canada returns to Sam Querrey of the US in their quarter final match during the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 06 July 2016. EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA

Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic returns to Lucas Pouille of France in their quarter final match during the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 06 July 2016. EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA

Topics: 10sballs.com, All England Club, Andy Murray, Atp World Tour, Grass tennis, Jo Wilfried Tsonga, London, milos raonic, Ricky Dimon, Roger Federer, Tennis News, The Championships, Tomas Berdych, Wimbledon 2016