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Mikhail Youzhny defeats favourite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Open 13

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Mikhail Youzhny defeats favourite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Open 13
The third seed Mikhail Youzhny defeated the local favourite, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarter-final of the Open 13 at Marseille on Friday night. Youzhny out-played his French competitor in a one hour and fifty eight minute tough battle by 6-4, 2-6 and 6-4
to book a place in the semi-final.
A back-and-forth affair resulted in utter dismay of the local crowd, as Tsonga failed to overcome his opponent. Besides a stumble in the second set, the Russian displayed his dominance upon his rival throughout the contest. Youzhny did not cash in all of
the opportunities presented to him, but converted some on the most crucial moments of the contest. His serve percentage was good and his defence was appreciable.
The Russian was in complete control of the opening set right from the start. His powerful serve was not challenged by the Frenchman as he did not face a single break point in the opener. Youzhny crafted six breaking opportunities, but only converted one
to his advantage. A single serve break was enough for the Russian to bag the first set at 6-4.
The 6ft 2in tall Tsonga came out firing in the second set with his explosive serve. He won 14 of 16 first serve points and kept pushing Youzhny to commit unforced errors. The Russian was unable catch up with the impulsive change of pace in the game and succumbed
to his opponent. The Frenchman clinched two break points in the set, the second of which came at 5-2. Tsonga wrapped up the second set with an assertive score of 6-2 to enforce a third.
With one set apiece, the third was sure to be a thriller. Both contestants held their serves in the opening six games and the score remained level at 3-3. The turning point came in the seventh game when Youzhny had a serve breaking chance. Tsonga saved the
first break point but a double-fault at deuce left Youzhny in advantage. A cracking return from the Russian forced Tsonga to commit an error and lose his serve to the opponent. Youzhny served out his next two games to seal the set at 6-4 and advance to the
semi-final.
Youzhny has reached the quarter-finals of the Open 13 on his past three appearances. He is determined to win his first ATP title on French soil this time. It is hard to say if he will be able to win the tournament, as he had been unable to handle the match
pressure in big games during his past three appearances. Youzhny will be squaring off against Croatia’s number one Marin Cilic in the semi-final. Cilic defeated the seventh seed Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic with an assertive 6-3 and 6-4 win in the quarter-final.
It will not be an easy task for the Russian to overcome the inform Croat in the semi-final, as he will have to put some extra effort to make it to the final of the Open 13.

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