Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Vs Xavier Malisse; Quarter-Final Preview – Erste Bank Open 2011
Concluding towards its ending stages, the quarter-final rounds of Erste Bank Open 2011 start off on Friday, 28th October 2011. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, French world No.9, is playing his quarter-final tie against Belgian world
No.50, Xavier Malisse at Wiener Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria.
The hard court is surely of equal advantage to both of the players as the two played their last 10 matches on hard courts. Prior to this fixture, Tsonga and Malisse have a 1-1 head-to-head score. However, the Belgian ousted the
higher ranked Frenchman earlier this season as they clashed out in the 2nd round of BNP Paribas Open, hard court.
Although was a close win for the Belgian world No.50, he managed to overthrow the top ranked right-hander and level the head-to-head scores then. This being their third meeting so far, whoever wins the match will dominate the rivalry.
Malisse’s performance so far has not been so impressive. The former world No.23 has won 5 of the last 10 matches, however, the veteran has proved successful so far in the event, Erste Bank Open 2011. Smashing out the eighth seed
of the tour surely gave a boost to the Belgian 31-year-old.
Secondly looking at the overall stats of the former world No.23, his performance on indoor hard courts has been satisfactory. Winning 49 and losing 44 matches on indoor hard court does not prove enough to predict a win for the
world No.50 a win against the top seed, Tsonga.
On the contrary, Tsonga, French world No.9, has been in terrific form this season. Ousting almost all of the top shots, including Roger Federer, David Ferrer and Rafael Nadal, the Frenchman’s tendency to win is at an all time high.
Adding to that, the 26-year-old has recently bagged the Open De Moselle 2011 which was also being played on hard indoor courts.
Statistically, Tsonga is one of the strongest players on indoor hard courts. Winning a staggering 106 matches and losing only 37, former world No.6 is surely a tough shot to play. Also his year to date win loss ratio is on 11 to
2. Known as a fighter on court, Tsonga will surely aim to finish off with a win and add some points the Barclays ATP Tour Final ratings to secure his spot.
Comparing the two with their standings and stats bends the predictions more towards the world No.9, Tsonga. However, if the Belgian can beat him this season on hard courts, he might as well do it again. The only difference is that
there is a hard court, however, an indoor hard circuit, on which the Frenchman claims to be the best there, is.
Nevertheless, the match would certainly be worth a watch as the two players clash out for the semis seat of the ATP World Tour 250 event. Tsonga, however, has more votes on finishing off as the winner. Nonetheless, an upset is
always pumps up the excitement.
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