The damp Court 2 lawn looked like a launching pad as Jo-Wilfried Tsonga wristed a lunging backhand stab volley at a devious angle and a sprinting Mardy Fish went airborne in a full-stretch dive for the fluttering ball, only to nudge it into net.
That dazzling exchange at 5-4 in the third set was both a pivotal point—Tsonga saved break point and two points later served out the set with a jolting body serve—and a microcosm of the match. Fish threw all he had, including his body, at the Frenchman, but Tsonga kept his balance, navigating break-point pressure and advancing to his third consecutive Wimbledon quarterfinal with a 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4, 6-4 triumph.
This start-and-stop encounter began on Monday, but was suspended due to rain with the second set even at 1-all. Tsonga burst out of the blocks winning three games in a row when play resumed today, only for showers to put the court undercover again.
The Tsonga serve was the key stroke. He hit 20 aces, including four down the middle that froze Fish in the second-set tiebreaker, and denied nine of the 11 break points he faced. When Fish lined a backhand approach long, Tsonga pocketed the 57-minute second set, then left the court for a medical time-out.
Fish targeted Tsonga’s weaker two-handed backhand, while Tsonga worked to Fish’s sometime wristy forehand. One second-set exchange looked like a down-the-line drill, as Fish played his forehand to the Tsonga two-hander. Turbulence struck in the opening game of the third as Fish double-faulted, watched Tsonga whizz a backhand pass, then floated an off-balance forehand to face two break points. Another Fish forehand error gave Tsonga the break; he confirmed holding at love for 2-0.
Reflecting on this match, Fish will be frustrated by his inability to convert his break point chances, including a pair when Tsonga served for the third set. Tsonga’s physicality is among his foremost attributes, but this moment was about daring. The man who failed to convert four match points in a gut-wrenching Roland Garros loss to Novak Djokovic showed no scars from that trauma, saving both to seize the third set, then cracked a backhand pass down the line that rattled the American's racquet to break for a 2-1 fourth-set lead.
Slipping while chasing a forehand in the fourth set, the last U.S. man standing took an awkward tumble to court, was prone for a few seconds, then raised his right hand in a comic plea for an assist that prompted a collective chuckle. The ball boy lended a helping hand, pulling Fish to his feet. Tsonga was in no mood to lift his fallen opponent: He closed with his 20th ace and owns a 5-1 record over quarterfinal opponent Philipp Kohlschreiber. Fish is now 0-7 in his last seven matches against Top 10 foes.
—Richard Pagliaro