Andy ready for Tsonga test
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Photograph by getty
Andy goes into his quarter-final against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Wednesday hoping his greater experience in Wimbledon’s latter stages could prove telling.
The Frenchman famously knocked Andy out in the first round of the Australian Open two years ago, but has never been to the quarter-finals at SW19. In contrast, Andy has made the last eight here for the past three years.
“Anybody will tell you that,” said Andy. “In all sports, you just learn how to deal with the situations better.
“You understand how to prepare better. When you’re on the court, you’re not as uptight or nervous. You just play the match rather than everything else that’s going on.”
“People talk a lot about the pressure and the expectation of playing at Wimbledon,” he added, “but you have that home support, which has made a huge difference to the way that I played. It makes you feel comfortable on the court.”
One thing he’s choosing not to focus on is the efficient manner in which he’s negotiated the first four rounds, something he’s managed without losing a set.
“It’s kind of an irrelevant stat,” said Andy bluntly. “Come the end of the tournament the guys like Federer and Nadal are going to be playing their best tennis. Whether they dropped sets early on is not going to make a difference to how they play the quarterfinal, semifinal stage.”
Andy’s appraisal of Tsonga was simple.
“He’s got a big game like Sam (Querrey), but he probably plays better around the net. Yeah, he’s a very good athlete. It’s going to be a very, very tough match.”
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