Andy Murray vs. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga – Final Preview: AEGON Championships 2011
Who dares argue with Mother Nature? If she wants top Brit Andy Murray and French pro Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to rest up before the much anticipated final at Queen’s club, then so be it. Relentless rain in London stopped play for the
day on Sunday, June 12th pushing the title match at the 2011 AEGON Championships 2011 on Monday, June 13th.
With a clear sky today, Murray readies himself to take on the Frenchman for the fifth time in his career though this is their first meeting ever in a title match. The Brit holds a commanding 4-1 lead in their head-to-head with
a perfect 1-0 edge on grass.
The two off-court friends last met on grass in 2010 when they played the quarterfinal match at Wimbledon. With two tiebreaker sets, Murray had bounced back from set down then to do away with Tsonga in four sets. The Frenchman clearly
has the ability to push the Brit. The only time Tsonga had managed a win over Murray was back in 2008 when the two met on the hard courts of Melbourne for their first round match at the Grand Slam Down Under.
However, the fact remains that Murray holds a three match winning streak over the Frenchman with a straight sets victory in their most recent meeting in the quarterfinal of the 2010 Shanghai Masters.
A more experienced player at Queen’s Club, Murray is putting in his sixth appearance here with a lifetime 10-3 win loss. His best performance at the event came in 2009 when he made it all the way to the final clinching the title
win after doing away with American James Blake.
Tsonga, on the other hand, is more of a novice here with only one previous appearance. A qualifier here in 2007, the Frenchman made it all the way to the third round before losing to Croat Marin Cilic in three sets.
The Brit also has more experience when it comes to their career on grass. Sporting a 40-11 win loss in his short pro years, Murray puts to shame Tsonga’s 11-5 statistics to shame. Add to that experience, Murray’s home crowd advantage
and some might say that just hand over the trophy to the Brit. Well no! No matter how much the Brit may outshine Tsonga on paper we best not forget that it was this 26-year-old Frenchman who bested the reigning world number one, Rafael Nadal in three sets
in the quarterfinal match here.
With one set loss to the Brit and two to Tsonga, the pros have pretty much sailed their way into the finals. Murray awarded what the press termed as, a “master-class” defeat to Andy Roddick in their semi-final match, losing only
four games. Tsonga moved into the title match after doing away with local James Ward in straight, though not so simple, sets.
Prediction: A tad more experienced on the surface with the support of the crowd, Murray tips the scales in his favour. However, the Frenchman is not likely to give up the fight so easily. In all likelihood the
match is going to go into three sets.
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