Andy Murray set for battle at Wimbledon

Andy Murray is poised and ready for battle as he heads into his semi-final match against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at Wimbledon later today.

This is the Scots seventh appearance at Wimbledon, a number the 25-year-old hopes proves lucky, taking him past the stage where he has tripped up in the last three years.

Murray said: “When I first played here I didn’t understand what it was like, and it still took a few years for me before I understood how important this tournament was to me, how important it is to tennis, and also this country, as well.

“I didn’t necessarily appreciate that the first time I played because you’re just a kid. It’s something new for you. You’re excited to play on Centre Court.

“It wasn’t until I played a lot of matches there that I started to understand how special a court it was.

“I spent some time here during the year sitting on the court when there was no one else there just thinking what it was like.

“So it’s become more and more special to me the more years I’ve played. I’ve started to understand how important it is to tennis.”

While Murray will go into the match as the favourite, fifth seed Tsonga is a dangerous opponent and in last year’s quarter-finals at SW19 he became the first man ever to beat Roger Federer from two sets down in a grand slam.

Murray has a great record against the Frenchman, though, winning five of their six matches, and he said: “I’ll draw on the experience of my seven years on the tour.

“Having played Jo quite a lot of times, I know him well. We played a lot in the juniors, so I’ve known him for a long time.

“Rather than focusing on it being the semi-finals of Wimbledon, I need to focus on it being a match against him and what I do well against him and what’s worked against him in the past.”