Wimbledon: Straight-shooting Murray to ease past nearly-man Tsonga
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So far, Wimbledon 2016 is going rather sweetly for Andy Murray, with the Scot yet to drop a set while world number one Novak Djokovic has already packed his bags. Next up for the two-time Slam champ comes a quarter-final with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, but all signs suggest Murray will be easing his way into the last four.
Only Roger Federer can join Murray in the ‘yet to drop a set club’ this summer, with the 29-year-old cruising through his opening four rounds in fine fashion.
A fourth-round clash with Nick Kyrgios threatened to prove a difficult obstacle, but those predictions failed to hold water as the Australian underperformed against an efficient Murray.
So next up for the 8/11 tournament favourite is Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who came through the final set of a five-set epic versus John Isner 19-17, before enjoying a respite in round four when Richard Gasquet retired.
The Frenchman is appearing in his 13th Slam semi-final, but after converting just one of those previous 12 into a spot in the Final, it’s little wonder the popular 31-year-old has been handed a ‘nearly-man’ tag in recent years.
And Tsonga’s record with Murray suggests he’s about to suffer another year of so near yet so far frustration.
The duo have met 15 times previously, with Murray tasting victory on an ominous 12 occasions.
With two of Tsonga’s three successes coming in their first three meetings – over eight years ago – Murray has dominated the Frenchman in recent times winning 11 of the last 12 contests.
That includes all four meetings on grass, which all told makes up Murray’s 1/9 match odds.
Each of Murray’s last four wins over Tsonga have come in straight sets too, and it’s 8/11 to happen again.
Tsonga is 11/2 to oust the home favourite, but while an upset seems unlikely, it’s worth noting that the pair’s last two meetings at Wimbledon have seen Murray win 3-1.
A repeat is 9/4, while 2/1 says the match lasts four sets, and Tsonga is evens to get a set on the scoreboard.
This should be Murray’s toughest test so far, but the history books, and his current form suggests the Scot is ready to consign Tsonga once more to his nearly-man status.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
