Jo-Wilfried Tsonga downs Mikhail Youzhny to enter semis – China Open 2012
Seeded third in this event, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, tumbled the Russian challenger, Mikhail Youzhny, in straight sets at the China Open 2012, an ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 500 Series event held in Beijing, China. He penned down a 6-3,
6-2 victory against the world number 28 to secure a spot in the final four on Friday.
The French top ranked star, Tsonga showed spectacular tennis skills to outclass Youzhny in their sixth outing at this outdoor hard court event. After recording this victory, Tsonga not only avenged his loss in Marseille last season but also levelled the
FedEx ATP Head 2 Head Series by 3-3 against the 30-year-old.
"I'm a bit disappointed with my game on the baseline; I didn't play really good tennis," reflected Tsonga in an on-court interview after conquering the Russian. "Today it was not brilliant, but was solid enough to win it today. I served well and that's it."
Tsonga had a perfect start at the National Tennis Center. He smoothly swiped his entire serves without facing any barriers. The French got the breakthrough in the eighth game after cashing in the lone break opportunity and eventually sealed the opener by
winning six games to three.
Ranked seventh in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Tsonga maintained consistency in his game in the following set. He got the coveted break in the third game and leaped to a 3-1 lead. After Youzhny kept his serve in the fifth game, the
French unleashed his skills again and stroke out the last three games. He blocked both breakpoints he came across and capitalised on two out of four break chances, eventually clicking the set with a 6-2 win.
The Swiss resident smashed six aces and finished the match with 55 points. He produced a higher first serve share and clinched 24 out of 31 points on it.
The 27-year-old will next encounter Feliciano Lopez from Spain. The Spanish veteran hit back at Sam Querrey to set up this meeting. He was broken four times but availed five out of 10 break chances to formulate a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory in two hours and 26
minutes.
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