Murray said: "Obviously it was a tough match. The end of the fourth set was really tough.
"I tried to use all my energy at the beginning of the fifth set to get myself up and get the crowd pumped up.
"Thankfully I got the early break and I hung on to it."
Asked about letting his lead be whittled away, Murray said on BBC One: "Tsonga's a pretty good player, he's not bad, he's one of the best grass-court players in the world. He came up with some great shots.
"He started returning better and mixed it up well. Credit to him for fighting his way back into the match.
"He fought really hard until the end."
Murray was thrilled with the way he handled the decider, and added: "I'm happy I'm through to the semis, it's time to go and rest and get ready for the next one."
