Murray eyes Wimbledon semi-finals

Wimbledon Championships
Venue: All England Club, London Date: 21 June - 4 July
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Wimbledon day nine preview

By Piers Newbery BBC Sport at Wimbledon

Andy Murray will have to overcome the powerful all-court game of France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Wednesday if he is to reach a second Wimbledon semi-final.

Murray has beaten the 10th seed in two of their three previous meetings and is yet to drop a set at Wimbledon 2010.

The pair meet in the second match on Centre Court after Roger Federer opens play against Tomas Berdych at 1300 BST.

On Court One, Novak Djokovic faces Yen-Hsun Lu before Rafael Nadal takes on Robin Soderling.

Murray has rediscovered his form at Wimbledon after struggling to get over his Australian Open final defeat by Roger Federer in January.

The 23-year-old Scot has seen off Jan Hajek, Jurgen Melzer, Gilles Simon and Sam Querrey in straight sets, and goes into his match against Tsonga full of confidence.

Murray beat the Frenchman last summer in straight sets in Montreal but their highest-profile meeting came in the first round of the 2008 Australian Open, when Tsonga's four-set win was initially viewed as a shock before he went on to beat Rafael Nadal and reach the final.

I think it's definitely easier to play him on any other surface than clay Soderling on Nadal

"It's going to be very difficult," said Murray. "He's got a big game like Sam but he plays probably better around the net. He's a very good athlete. It's going to be a very, very tough match.

"He's very exciting to watch and I'm sure there will be some great shots played in the match.

"All the time when you play on Centre Court the support's always great. The crowd's always into it when the British guys are playing. I'm sure the match against Tsonga won't be any different. Hopefully I can perform well."

Tsonga, who says he is over his recent back problems, is keen to put the pressure on his opponent.

"I know Andy likes grass," said the Frenchman. "He plays well on this surface, he's at home, he will give everything - I know that. I obviously will be the outsider.

"Maybe the pressure will be on his shoulders because, for me, I have nothing to lose. I will play the first quarter-final in my career here at Wimbledon. So for me, I have everything to win in this match."

In the same half of the draw, second seed Nadal will resume his rivalry with Swedish sixth seed Robin Soderling, the man he beat to win the French Open only three weeks ago.

The Spaniard insists that this match will be "completely different" because of the surface, adding: "I think he's probably one of the most difficult opponents that you can play on any surface, but especially here.

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"I think he's playing with big confidence, big serve, perfect flat shots and long from the baseline, so he's playing great. It's going to be a very difficult match for me, I think. Hopefully for him, too."

Soderling admitted: "It's going to be tough for sure, but I think it's definitely easier to play him on any other surface than clay."

Six-time champion Federer will be an overwhelming favourite to beat Berdych for the ninth time in 12 meetings, although the Czech ended an eight-match losing streak against the Swiss by winning their last encounter in Miami earlier this year.

Federer needed five sets to win his first-round match and four in the second round but has been back to something like his best in the last two matches and revealed that an injury had been hampering him early in the tournament.

"My thigh was hurting a little bit after the first match and in the final in Halle it was hurting me as well," said the Swiss. "But honestly now I have no more problems, no more strapping. I'm happy I recovered."

The remaining quarter-final pits third seed Djokovic against this year's surprise of the draw, Yen-Hsun Lu, the world number 82 from Chinese Taipei who stunned Andy Roddick in the last 16.

"I know the next opponent is Djokovic," said Lu. "He's also a very great player. I don't know how far I can go, I cannot tell you, but I can tell you if I have a chance to step on the court I will fight to the end."

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