Andy Murray is determined to end his dispiriting run against his biggest rivals by beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga today to secure a place in the US Open quarter-finals.
The Scot has not beaten anyone in the top ten since defeating Novak Djokovic in last year’s Wimbledon final, a sequence that has led to him slipping to No 9 in the world.
However, with Tsonga standing between Murray and a likely last-eight meeting with Djokovic, he is confident of continuing his push for a third grand-slam title and a second US Open crown.
“I just try to win the match, that’s basically the goal before every match,” the 27-year-old said. “It’s not really about how you play, because sometimes you can play really good tennis and lose.
“I’m more interested in trying to win the match against Jo, playing the right tactics to give myself the best chance of doing that, and see what happens.”
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Tsonga is in fine form and most recently defeated the British No 1 in Toronto in August. However, Murray, who beat the Frenchman — the No 9 seed in New York — in Miami this year at a time when the 29-year-old was outside the top ten, believes his run of seven matches without a win against the best players in the world can be ended at Flushing Meadows today.
Asked if his recent record plays on his mind, Murray added: “Not as much as you guys would think.
“I’ve beaten many top-ten players over the course of my career in these events and I’m sure it will happen again, and happen soon, and I’m sure that’s the case on Monday.
“If you feel good physically, anything can happen, so you just need to be ready each match now and I’ll hopefully play some good tennis.”
Tsonga and Murray have met three times at grand-slam tournaments, most recently in the Wimbledon semi-finals two years ago, when the British No 1 prevailed in four sets.
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Indeed, Tsonga’s only triumph over Murray in best-of-five-set matches came in 2008 at the Australian Open, with the pair’s overall record standing at 9-2 in favour of Murray.
Tsonga, the unpredictable yet flamboyant strokemaker, remains confident of success. “I mean, it’s never a good time to play Andy, but for me it’s the best time to play against him just because I’m feeling better than a few months ago,” he said. “So that’s a good time for me.”