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Murray rallied from a set and a break down to beat No. 7 David Ferrer of Spain 6-7 (5), 7-6 (6), 6-4, 7-6 (4), while Tsonga ousted first-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-6 (6), 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2.
As always at this point in the tournament, "Murray Mania" is setting in at Wimbledon.
Murray is in the semifinals for the fourth straight year, giving him one more chance of becoming the first British man since 1938 to reach to the final. The last British man to win the title was Fred Perry in 1936. And with Nadal out of the way, the expectations on Murray are higher than ever.
"Subconsciously I'm probably extremely stressed out right now, but I try not to feel it," Murray said. "If you think too much about it and you read the newspapers and you watch the stuff on TV that's said about you, it would become far too much. But if you shield yourself from it all and get into your own little bubble, only listen to the people that are around you, then it's something you can deal with."
Murray looked to be in serious trouble against Ferrer but broke the Spaniard when he served for the second set at 5-4, and then saved a set point in the tiebreaker before seizing the momentum.
Next up is Tsonga, who knows a thing or two about playing under pressure as the top "home" player at the French Open. Although Tsonga said the level of hysteria doesn't compare, since there are more elite French players around.
"Here for Andy it's difficult because he's alone," Tsonga said. "In France it's OK. We have many players and that's fine, but here for him it's really difficult because every eyes are on him and it's tough for him."
[Associated
Press;
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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