Murray and Ferrer Set Up Quarterfinals Clash; Tsonga Outlasts Fish

By Erik Gudris

Photo Credit: Getty Images

(July 3rd, 2012) -- The rain held off just long enough to allow the completion of most of the postponed men's fourth round matches with No. 4 seed Andy Murray leading the charge into the quarterfinals.

After starting his match yesterday against Marin Cilic up a set and a break, Murray looked like a man on a mission as he quickly won the second set and looked focused to wrap things up before rain threatened to halt play again. While Cilic didn't quite look his best, he did threaten to break Murray early in the third set before the Scot held him off with some terrific serving.

Murray, with a sweeping forehand passing shot, broke Cilic to go up 3-1 in the third and from there it was a mere formality as Murray won 7-5, 6-2, 6-3.

Waiting for Murray next is the man he lost to in the quarters of Paris just a few weeks ago - No. 7 seed David Ferrer.

He faced Juan Martin Del Potro on Centre Court today in what many thought would be a blockbuster match.

Instead, it proved to be all one-way traffic for Ferrer whose steady defense frustrated Del Potro. Ferrer broke early in a first set that saw him hit almost as many winners as Del Potro. After taking the first set, Ferrer didn't let up and played a near flawless second set as he hit only one unforced error to take it with two breaks of serve.

Delpo tried to mix things up in the third, even coming to the net more, but it all came down to his inability to outhit his opponent as he missed a forehand to give Ferrer the key break for 4-3. The Spaniard stayed steady and with a final break of serve, he wrapped a 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 win.

A pair of German men also booked their passage into the quarterfinals as No. 31 seed Florian Mayer overcame a third set rally by France's Richard Gasquet to win 6-3, 6-1, 3-6, 6-2. The win sends Mayer back to the quarterfinals after reaching that stage eight years ago.

Germany's No. 27 seed Philipp Kohlschreiber earned his first ever appearance in a Grand Slam quarterfinal as he took out American qualifier Brian Baker 6-1, 7-6(4) 6-3.

Tsonga Outlasts Fish In Stop and Go Battle

The final fourth rounder to be completed between No. 5 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and No. 10 seed Mardy Fish was decided on a series of momentum shifts due to the weather and both men's physical issues.

Despite trailing Fish at 4-6, 1-all when the match was halted yesterday, Tsonga managed to take the lead in the second set at 4-3 before a brief rain delay stopped play again. When the match resumed, it was Fish who came out more energized to eventually force a tiebreak. But with some big serving and his trademark flair up at net, it was Tsonga who closed out the tiebreak to level the match.

Tsonga went off court during a medical time out to deal with some soreness in his back and when he returned, he broke Fish right away to start the third set. Tsonga kept up his advantage, but when he served for the set, Tsonga fell behind 15-40. It took more big serving and a deft backhand volley winner that Fish tried to reach but only ended up crashing into the net. One more big serve gave Tsonga the set with Fish asking him during the changeover, "How many lines can you hit?"

Now it was Fish's turn to get a consult from the trainer as Fish dealt with some pain in his legs. Once again, Tsonga earned an early break and though Fish fought off almost going down a double break at 1-3, he couldn't punch through Tsonga who played a clean final set, hitting 16 winners and only 2 unforced errors to seal a 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-4, 6-4 win.