Jo-Wilfried Tsonga plonks Cedrik-Marcel Stebe to reach round three – French Open 2012
Fifth seeded Frenchman, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga got the better of the German contestant, Cedrik-Marcel Stebe, in a four-set thriller at the Roland Garros 2012 on Thursday. He registered a 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 win over the 21-year-old to progress into the round of 32 at this major clay court tournament held in France.
The local seed tumbled over the world number 91 to advance into the third round at this second of the four Grand Slam event of the circuit. Meeting each other for the first time, Tsonga lost his path in the second set but stayed focused to carve out the victory with a breadstick.
"Yesterday, the conditions were not the ones I like very much," said the jubilant local star after clinching the battle. "When the weather is heavy, I find it difficult to play. I can't volley well. I can't play winning points from the baseline, and then you start playing cat and mouse. And I'm not the cleverest at that game. Yesterday, there was a lot of noise, and I was getting a bit crazy. So I think it was a good idea the match was stopped yesterday and I could start again in far better conditions for me."
Tsonga high-spiritedly entered the Court Suzanne Lenglen and easily swiped his entire serves after warding off both breakpoints he faced. He availed two out of five break opportunities and subsequently clicked the opener with a 6-2 success.
The German got in action in the second set and despite failing to block the lone breakpoint he faced, Stebe broke his rival’s serve twice and pocketed the set by winning six games to four.
Ranked fifth in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Tsonga re-gained his strength in the following set. Apart from losing his serve once, he capitalised on three out of four break opportunities to formulate a 6-2 success.
The highest ranked local contender perfected his game in the fourth set and went on a four-game rampage before Stebe could hold on. Tsonga bagged the last two games and pocketed the set with a breadstick.
Next up for the French is the Italian underdog, Fabio Fognini, who saved two match points to stun 28th seeded Viktor Troicki.
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