Jo-Wilfried Tsonga dumps Ivan Ljubicic to claim his first title of the year – Moselle Open 2011
World number seven, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France outplayed the former world number three, Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia, to win the final of the Moselle Open, in Metz, France on Sunday night.
Being played at on the indoor hard courts of the Arenes de Metz, the top seed Frenchman lived up to the expectations of his home crowd to claim his first ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) title of the current year. Tsonga
took two hours and thirty six minutes of play to settle the final scores at 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-3, to drive Ljubicic out of the competition after a stiff contest.
It was the first World Tour-level title for Tsonga since 2009, when he was announced the champion in Tokyo. His consistent performances this season lifted his world rankings to number seven and strengthened his chances to make
it to the ATP World Tour Finals in London in November.
The tall Frenchman displayed his brilliant power hitting in the final, devastating the fourth seeded Croat to become the third Frenchman to claim the Moselle Open title in succession. He raced through the opener with the utmost
ease but Ljubicic retaliated with magnificent pin-point hitting in the following set to bring the matchup back on even terms. Tsonga proved too good for the fourth seeded Croat and pocketed the final set with some quality stroke play to lift the trophy in
front of his home crowd.
“I am so happy to have won the title, it was a long time since I lifted a trophy and I am happy I was able to do here in Metz, in front of the French public,” said Tsonga after winning the final. “I knew it was going to be difficult.
That’s why I am not surprised about Ivan’s come back in the second set. Matches against him are always based on two or three crucial points.”
Despite of a par serve precision of just 54 percent, the French serve included 14 thudding aces and four double faults in the matchup. Tsonga dropped just six points on his serve to reel 37 points, whereas Ljubicic secured 38 out
of his 55 first serve points to finish on the losing side. The top seed converted six of his 13 break opportunities in the competition and suffered two break point conversions from the Croat to come out as the winner.
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