MEN'S QUARTER-FINALS PREVIEW:HIS LOOKS are a reminder of the genius boxer when he called himself Cassius Clay. He has not been spoken about as a real challenger for the title but Andy Murray knows the dimensions of the threat of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga today when they meet in the men's quarter-finals.
Tsonga has endured years of injury, most recently his back, which forced him to withdraw from Roland Garros a few weeks ago.
But the world number 10 is now playing at his athletic best. There has never been any doubt about the range of Tsonga’s talent and, in many respects, he has more than Murray even if it doesn’t always win matches.
Murray has intelligently found an effective style that suits his game and in Tsonga he will meet a player who will not fear him. He knows that and after beating American Sam Querrey in straight sets, his terse summing up of the Frenchman was laden with respect.
“Very difficult. Got a big game. Like Sam, he plays probably better around the net. Yeah, he’s a very good athlete. It’s going to be a very, very tough match,” said Murray.
Tsonga was runner-up at the Australian Open in 2008 and made it to the semi-finals there this year before losing to Roger Federer. Murray then lost to Federer in the final.
Where Murray subsequently struggled with form all year, Tsonga has been hampered by injury, although the past two weeks has shown those issues are behind them.
Murray leads their head to heads 2-1.
“I feel confident,” said Tsonga. “I know I can beat everybody. I will try to play relaxed and be offensive. I know Andy likes grass but maybe the pressure will be on his shoulders.”
At this stage pressure is everywhere although of the eight remaining players the least falls on Yen-hsun Lu, the son of a Taiwan chicken farmer, who calls himself Randy because his English teacher told him to get an American style.
Beating Andy Roddick last time out would not have endeared him to the US and he now has a fighter’s chance of upsetting Novak Djokovic. The Serb third seed is fast developing a reputation for what others see as phantom ailmentsl.
In his four-set defeat of Lleyton Hewitt, the doctor was called for stomach cramps. “He’s always got something wrong,” quipped Hewitt.
Djokovic was defensive. “I don’t know why people think that I’m always having something, which is absolutely wrong,” said the 23-year-old, who is now in his fifth straight Grand Slam quarter-final.
Psychosomatic or not, he reached the semi-finals in 2007 but retired with a foot injury. At last year’s US Open, Roddick couldn’t help himself and interrupted a question on Djokovic’s health.
“Bird flu,” he sarcastically blurted before adding “Anthrax. Sars. Common cough and cold.”
The tournament big-hitters, Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal at the top and bottom of the ladder seem to have steadied their respective ships.
Federer sailed through his fourth round match against Jurgen Melzer and now faces Tomas Berdych, the 12th seed, while Nadal settled his match with Paul-Henri Mathieu in three sets after two previous matches that went to five.
Federer remains unflappable. “I thought I played great,” he said after beating Melzer, and it didn’t sound in the least bit arrogant. Federer considers Berdych a dangerous player but leads him 8-2 in head to heads, although the last time they met on hard court in Miami earlier this year Berdych won in three sets.
Nadal’s mission is to do what he did in the French Open final earlier this month and defuse the big game of Robin Soderling.
They have met on grass once before in 2007, the Spaniard winning in five sets.
Like Murray and Tsonga, Nadal has a healthy respect for the Swede, who endeared himself to the Wimbledon crowd when he gave his cap to a ball girl struggling in the heat.
“Gonna be a really tough match,” said Nadal, who was fined €1,600 for receiving coaching from his uncle Toni in the third round.
“He’s playing with big confidence, big serve, perfect flat shots and long from the baseline.”
