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 quarterfinals.
Tsonga was brave on Centre Court on Wednesday, rallying from two sets down to stun Murray before eventually succumbing 7-6 (12-10), 6-1, 3-6, 4-6, 6-1.
A two-time semifinalist at the All England Club, Tsonga said afterwards: "The finish line was far tonight. 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 on this last set. Like I said, the finish line was far."
After forcing a deciding fifth set at SW19, Tsonga seemingly ran out of steam, gifting Murray a double-break lead as he netted a forehand.
And it proved a bridge too far for Tsonga, with the Frenchman adding: "I think he had the opportunity to break me, and he did it.
"Then he was a little bit more aggressive and relaxed. He did it twice, and then it was tough to come back in this set."
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