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Impressive Ward misses out on dream Murray final

James Ward delivered a hugely admirable performance despite suffering defeat to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga © Getty Images

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James Ward fell at the final hurdle in his bid to set up an all-British final with Andy Murray at the AEGON Championships, losing in battling fashion to the athletically superior Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

World No. 216 Ward has enjoyed a quite outstanding week at Queen's, knocking out world No. 14 Stanislas Wawrinka and defending champion Sam Querrey en route to the last four. However, the physical presence of Tsonga proved a shade too much as the British No. 2 exited the competition 6-3 7-6(7).

Ward can still look forward to Wimbledon, where he has been given a wildcard, with a great deal of confidence after a string of results that will lift him inside the world's top 180 players. Certainly a defeat to world No. 19 Tsonga, Friday's conqueror of Rafael Nadal, should do little to dent his pride, and it would be no exaggeration to say the Brit matched his more illustrious opponent at times, a fact that bodes well for Ward's future.

"It's been a fantastic week for me, my best so far," said the Brit. "I hope to build on it from here on in. Being at home, everyone's on your side and it really helps.

"[My target was] playing well in the first round really. Obviously as I won matches, I started to believe more and had more confidence. I'll take that confidence to Eastbourne next week. Today was a great match and I just missed out. Let's hope it's onwards and upwards from here."

Nerves were to be expected in the biggest game of the 24-year-old's career, and they undoubtedly affected his game early on, despite the unintentional efforts of Belarusian tennis player Max Mirnyi to lighten the pressure, falling down the stairs as Ward prepared to walk on court.

Having been so solid behind his serve all week, the Brit committed a string of early unforced errors to allow Tsonga to break immediately, and that was all it took for the Frenchman to take the first set. Attacking the net with typical frequency, Tsonga smothered his opponent for room as he asserted his authority.

That all changed in the first two games of the second set though, as Ward fended off multiple break points before penetrating the Tsonga serve for the first time to move ahead 2-0. Throughout all the focus on Ward's unfamiliarity with an ATP Tour semi-final, it was worth remembering that Tsonga had also never reached the last four of a competition on grass.

Ward began to suggest he would produce a repeat of his victory over Querrey, when he hit back from a set down to win, but Tsonga got back on level terms at 4-4 in the second set after a high quality game of tennis. Tsonga set the standard with a forehand winner down the line, which was answered by a handful of beautifully thought-out points from Ward, only for Tsonga to ultimately end matters with a leaping volley.

A tiebreaker was the least Ward deserved, and he had his rival diving all over the centre court grass with a string of laser-like forehands as they swapped ends locked at 6-6. Ward produced one staggering point-blank reaction volley to deny Tsonga on match point, but a wide backhand finally sent the Brit packing, albeit with an army of new fans.

At the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Philipp Kohlschreiber ensured German interest in the final by defeating Gael Monfils in the last four. Kohlschreiber did not concede a single break point en route to an impressive 6-3 6-3 triumph over the enigmatic Frenchman.

The German will play Philipp Petzschner in the final after he beat second seed Tomas Berdych in three sets.

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