Beating Roger at Big W is like beating Rafa at French: Tsonga

It was an action-packed Wednesday at the All England Club with all the big guys playing their quarterfinal matches. While Nadal, Djokovic and Murray booked their place in the last four, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga emerged a surprise semifinalist. And, boy! was he excited about shocking Roger Federer in five sets. Here’s all the Day Nine action served up in quotes. “My foot is not fine. But we are in quarterfinals of Wimbledon. It’s an emergency, so I had to play. I have pain on the foot. I cannot run in perfect conditions without sleep (anesthetic) in the foot. With the anesthetic there I don’t feel the pain.” Rafael Nadal admits that his foot still hurts. “He is playing really very well. He is a fantastic player, but after that I think he has a fantastic character. He is a very good guy and we are friends. The match will be very difficult for me and I gonna try my best.” Nadal on his semifinal match against Andy Murray. “Normally we play PlayStation outside the court when we are in the same hotels in the tournament. Now he really don’t want to play more, he lost the last few times.” Nadal smiling about his winning record in his PlayStation rivalry with Murray, which they play two on a team. “Nadal actually isn’t very good at PlayStation, his partner is very good. It would be very comfortable for me [to play singles on PlayStation], so they only play on a team. we’ve never played [singles] but I think I’m better, yup.” Andy Murray responds to Nadal’s teasing about his PlayStation record. “I believe I can win against him. I had chances last year. I was up a break in the third set; had break point on my serve in the second set. I think there was only one break in the first set. We both played good tennis. I just have to have a better game plan this year. Sometimes it comes down to strategy, sometimes it comes down to more experience.’’ Murray on his chances in the real match against Nadal. “For me it’s the most special because I beat Roger Federer in the quarterfinal here on this big court. To be two sets down and come back was unbelievable…it’s crazy. I served really well. I was feeling really strong. I never panicked. I was really focused. I was not scared. The feeling is like maybe what it would be like to beat Nadal in Roland Garros, so it’s just amazing. I was just perfect today. Every time I was feeling like a dream. For sure, one of the best memories in my career anyway.” [caption id=“attachment_34170” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Jo-Wilfried Tsonga came from two sets down to stun Roger Federer in five. Leon Neal/AFP”] [/caption] Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on his biggest career victory. “Except the score, many many things went right. He hung in there. I was controlling the match. Next thing you know, he just started serving great. At least it took him, you know, sort of a special performance to beat me, which is somewhat nice. I thought I played a good match myself. I’m actually pretty pleased with my performance today. I thought my game was plenty good enough to win the tournament.” Roger Federer sounds upbeat despite the tough loss against Tsonga. “I think I definitely can, yes. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t the case. I’m healthy. Even though I took a tough loss today, I don’t feel discouraged in any way. I’ll work harder than ever and hopefully come back extremely strong for Davis Cup next week and then the American summer again.” Federer sounds confident of winning another Grand Slam. “It was really hard to predict where he’s going to go. He was not making a lot of unforced errors from the baseline, and that made my life really difficult. I tried to change the pace, but he was better at that. We were playing cat and mouse, I think. But in the end, I’m just happy to get through. Novak Djokovic on his hard-fought four set win over Aussie qualifier Bernard Tomic. “I had a bit of a congestion last night and I didn’t sleep as good. My immune system wasn’t quite as it should have been in the first set, in the first four or five games. That’s where he got on a roll.” Tomic, who won the second set against Djokovic, explains why he couldn’t get off to a good start against the Serb. “I don’t move as good as Novak. I’d love to improve my returns and return like him. Obviously that would put pressure on the opponent more in the future. When you do a result like this it tells you you’re only a few matches away from winning a title. I definitely think I have the game, and if I get the mental state, to win a Major in the next hopefully two years. I know what my goals are now. Rest is one of them.” Tomic is high on confidence after his sensational quarterfinal run at Wimbledon.