Jo-Wilfried Tsonga battles past Grigor Dimitrov into second round – China Open 2011
Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga battled past Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 (5), 7-5 on Tuesday to advance into the second round of 2011 China Open here in Beijing, China. Top seeded at the Association of Tennis Professional’s tournament, Tsonga
looked in marvellous form in a match that was played on a extremely competitive note.
Both men displayed some high quality tennis as a nail biting encounter took place. Tsonga had to be at his very best to overcome the challenger in a gripping contest that lasted for 1 hour and 48 minutes. Tsonga struggled to break
his opponent in the opening set, which went into a tie-breaker after the contestants broke one another once.
Tsonga improved his foot work and shot selection significantly in the following set and despite a brave resistance by Dimitrov; he managed to close out the match in straight sets. World number 7 Tsonga has been in destructive form
since the start of this season. Upsetting the likes of Roger Federer and Rafael in the year 2011, he has improved his game play considerably. Winner of six ATP titles, Wilfried Tsonga will be looking to clinch his second title of this season with another impressive
performance here on the hard courts of National Tennis Centre.
Tsonga, who has the best serve in the business, was absolutely brilliant on his service games. Hitting 9 serves aces during the contest, he earned valuable points to dent his opponent’s confidence levels. Hitting a decent 63 per
cent first serve, he was able to take control of rallies to place those forehand and backhand winners all over the court.
Breaking the serve twice, he was able to come up with his A game at crucial times. Converting two of four break chances, he was up for the challenge. Dimitrov put up a great fight, to his credit. Although he won 75 per cent of
the points on his serves, he failed to handle the pressure on big points. Dimitrov is a fighter and he is expected to come back strongly on his next appearance on the tour.
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