Andy Murray survived a stunning Jo-Wilfried Tsonga revival to win an epic Wimbledon quarter-final 7-6 (12-10) 6-1 3-6 4-6 6-1 on Wednesday.
The 2013 champion appeared en route to a relatively straightforward victory having moved into a two-set lead in front of a Centre Court crowd that had already seen a Roger Federer comeback to beat Marin Cilic in five sets. But Tsonga, who had wasted three set points in the first, refused to wilt and upped his tempo and the quality to take the match into a fifth set and leave Murray, considered favourite following Novak Djokovic's elimination, stunned.
Ultimately, though, Murray dug deep to keep his Wimbledon dream alive, levelling Bjorn Borg on 51 wins at the All England Club in the process.
Murray was playing as if he had the ball on a string in the early stages and a couple of Tsonga double faults saw him break for a 3-2 lead. But Tsonga worked his way into the first set and, although the Frenchman missed three break points in a mammoth game six that lasted over 10 minutes, a stunning two-handed cross-court backhand saw him level at 4-4.
Tsonga won one of the points of the tournament in an epic tie-break with a deft backhand volley for a mini-break, but Murray fought back from 6-4 down and clinched a breathless opener with a backhand volley.
Much like Nick Kyrgios did against Murray in round four, Tsonga appeared thrown by losing the opening set and Murray raced into a 4-0 double-break lead before quickly wrapping up the second set.
Murray faltered when closing on victory, though. He netted a simple forehand and went well long with a backhand to gift Tsonga a solitary break that proved enough to win a tight third set.
It appeared as though Tsonga's resolve was broken when he went long at the baseline as Murray moved into a 4-2 lead in the fourth. But the 12th seed refused to yield and broke straight back, and from there Murray was on the back foot as Tsonga produced several moments of quality to break again in game nine before serving out to force a one-set shoot-out.
Sadly for the neutrals, Tsonga seemingly ran out of steam. Murray flashed a forehand into the corner to break for 2-0 and it was a double-break lead when Tsonga netted a forehand.
And it was a lead Murray would not relinquish, the Briton finishing off with a huge ace to set up a semi-final clash with Tomas Berdych after almost four enthralling hours.
STATISTICAL BREAKDOWN
Murray [2] bt Tsonga [12] 7-6 (12-10) 6-1 3-6 4-6 6-1
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Murray - 46/23
Tsonga - 59/47
ACES
Murray - 14
Tsonga - 15
BREAK POINTS WON
Murray - 6/12
Tsonga - 4/13
FIRST SERVE PERCENTAGE
Murray - 61
Tsonga - 62
PERCENTAGE OF POINTS WON ON FIRST/SECOND SERVE
Murray - 73/50
Tsonga - 72/39
TOTAL POINTS
Murray - 169
Tsonga - 150
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