Murray’s tougher route may provide edge versus Tsonga

For the fourth year in a row, Murray will be in action on men’s semi-final day at Wimbledon, and the ghost of Fred Perry looms ever larger the longer the wait goes on.

It is 76 years this summer since there was a home winner in the men’s singles, and 74 since Bunny Austin became the last British man to reach the Wimbledon final.

Murray has equalled Tim Henman’s tally of four semi-finals, and, no matter what the Scot says, it is hard to think of today’s encounter with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga as anything other than his best chance to end Britain’s long wait.

In the last two years, Murray has found Rafael Nadal an immovable object, and there has been an inevitability about the end result.

Three years ago was certainly the Scot’s best chance so far but, although he had a good record against Andy Roddick, the American was already twice a finalist and was able to take the match by the scruff of the neck in a way Murray could not.

Criticism of Murray at such moments centres around his tendency to be too passive, relying on his guile and sliced backhand in an attempt to draw his opponent into a mistake.

Of all the matches Murray has played, that was arguably the one where it was most true, although it is easy to forget how well Roddick played and that he should have beaten Roger Federer in the final.

Murray played with fervour and forced Roddick to work for every point. But the American produced one of the best performances of his life to triumph, with his serve being too hot to handle as he went on to win 6-4 4-6 7-6 7-6.

Murray is three years older now and has a lot more experience of big matches, and there were plenty of positive signs in his quarter-final against David Ferrer.

Yes, the sliced backhand was still a major feature, as it always will be on grass, but Murray was also willing to take control when it mattered, especially at the end of the second set and in the fourth-set tie-break.

The fourth seed hit 61 winners in total, including 18 aces, and found a way to beat one of the world’s best players at the very top of his game.

And, although some critics will point to the fact Nadal was taken out of Murray’s path, there is no question if he reaches the final he will have done it the hard way.

Of the British No 1’s victims – Nikolay Davydenko, Ivo Karlovic, Marcos Baghdatis, Marin Cilic and Ferrer – only Karlovic has never reached the top 10, and no one would call the 6ft 10ins Croatian a straightforward opponent.

Tsonga may well be the toughest of the lot, with the big-hitting Frenchman possessing the power to blast anyone off court, as he showed in the quarter-finals here last year when he became the first man to beat Federer at a grand slam from two sets down.

But the gap from Murray’s previous opponents is not a big one, whereas Tsonga has not yet played anyone of the Scot’s calibre.

If Murray were to win, then a final against Novak Djokovic or Federer would, of course, be a completely different matter.

The pair have between them destroyed Murray’s grand slam dreams in his three previous finals, and either would go into the match as favourite.

But Murray, seen below being escorted from practice yesterday, has a decent record against both and would certainly back himself to pull off the most famous of victories, and with it end one of British sport’s great hoodoos.

World No 5 Ferrer said of the man who ended his own Wimbledon dreams: “Of course Andy Murray has a chance to win Wimbledon. He’s an unbelievable player. He deserves to win a grand slam.”

Of his defeat to Murray, the Spaniard added: “I think the key was in the second set, when I had 5-4 and then one set point in the tie-break.

“But Andy, in the important moments, played really good. He played more aggressive than me, and he was better. Even if I was two sets up, it would be difficult to beat Andy because he is playing very good.”

That Murray does not have to contend with his good fried Nadal, against whom he lost 5-7 6-2 6-2 6-4 at this stage last year, is a massive bonus although the Scot was right to point out when the Spaniard exited that only by reaching the semi-finals would he have a chance to make it count.

His disappointment was there for all to see both last year and in 2010, when Murray had fallen 6-4 7-6 6-4 and he sat tearfully in his chair swallowing his defeat.

Although the Scot put up a strong fight and fired six more winners than his opponent, he could not cope with the ability of Nadal to lift his game at crucial times. Murray said at the time: “I’ve had some good wins against Rafa where I played great tennis. But he played great.”

Now is the time for Murray to do likewise.