Jo-Wilfried Tsonga downs Stanislas Wawrinka to reach the semis – Monte Carlo Rolex masters 2013
World number eight, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, had to dig deep before outmuscling the Swiss number two, Stanislas Wawrinka, in the quarter-final, round of Monte Carlo Rolex Masters on Friday. The sixth seeded French battle extremely hard for two hours and 10 minutes before settling the final score line at 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, to reach the semi-final draw of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event taking place in Monte Carlo, Monaco.
It was a evenly matched contest, with both players delivering their best to come out as the winner. Wawrinka displayed exceptional tennis in the opening set of the match and absolutely destroyed the French powerhouse to get the upper hand. However, Tsonga got his eye in the game in the second set and then didn’t look back at his rival. The 28-year-old French reeled off two sets on the trot to dispose of the world number 17 in a convincing manner.
The opening set took off in a steady manner, with both players holding their opening two serves comprehensively. Wawrinka drew first blood in the fifth game and broke into a 3-2 lead. He capitalized on the momentum gained from the serve break and went on to nail his second successive break point in the seventh game to reach 5-2. The Swiss veteran served out of the first set at 6-2.
Tsonga played more aggressively in the following set at managed to crack a break point in the fourth game. A successful serve hold from the Frenchman gave him a commanding 4-1 lead in the set. Wawrinka couldn’t recover from the early damage done by the break point and eventually submitted the second set to his superior-ranked rival at 3-6.
A more cautious start from both contenders was witnessed in the decisive set of the match and no break points were seen in the opening six game. Tsonga shifted gears in the seventh game and stung a crucial break of serve to lead 4-3. He held on to his lead until the end and wrapped up the final set at 6-4 to book a spot in the round of four.
Tsonga will face the winner of the other quarter-final match between the unseeded Bulgarian, Grigor Dimitrov, and the eighth time defending champion, Rafael Nadal, in the semi-final of the tournament.
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