Inquiry Line (Signal only)

Live Broadcast

Tsonga races to Rotterdam final

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Pinterest
Pocket
WhatsApp

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga remains on course for a first ATP title since 2015 after beating Tomas Berdych to reach the final of the Rotterdam Open.

Sixth seed Tsonga, runner-up in Rotterdam in 2011, needed just 72 minutes to book his place in the final, seeing off Berdych 6-3 6-4 for a fourth straight-sets victory of the week and a place in his first final of the year.

The Frenchman has lost his last two finals, against Andy Murray in Vienna last year and Novak Djokovic in Shanghai in 2015, but will be hopeful of adding to his 12 career titles when he faces either David Goffin or Pierre Hugues Herbert on Sunday.

World number 14 Tsonga had already seen off Marin Cilic earlier this week and toppled another higher seed with a single break in each set enough to do the damage against Berdych.

Tsonga was dominant on his own serve, with Berdych unable to force a single break point as the Frenchman fired down 10 aces and won 88 per cent of points behind his first serve to seal a surprisingly comfortable passage to Sunday’s final.

Berdych came into the match with a dominant 8-3 lead in the head-to-head, including their last meeting in the Doha quarter-final last month, but a focused Tsonga has his sights set on a first title since Metz in September 2015.

“My only goal is to win the next match, this would be important for me,” Tsonga said.

“I’m not too worried about my ranking unless I were able to get to eighth, that is the position where you are protected in the draw from other seeds.

“Berdych played a tough match, he’s a power player, hitting the ball hard like me. My strategy is always the same – the best strategy is to just play well.”

Qualifier Herbert, part of the world’s No 1 doubles team, is into the semi-final having beaten Dominic Thiem on Friday and he faces the highest remaining seed in the shape of Belgium’s world No 11 Goffin.

Grab a NOW TV Sky Sports Day Pass and stay glued in to all the latest tennis action from the Rotterdam Open on Sky Sports all for just £6.99. No contract.

Don’t forget to follow us skysports.com/tennis, our app for mobile devices and iPad or our Twitter account @skysportstennis for news, reports and expert analysis.

Original Source

Facebook Comments
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Pinterest
Pocket
WhatsApp

Never miss any important news. Subscribe to our newsletter.

Recent News

Follow Radio Biafra on Twitter

Editor's Pick