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Tsonga ousts Federer to progress through
World number 16 Jo Wilfried Tsonga has grabbed his second season win over Roger Federer at the Montreal Masters where the Frenchman edged the third seed in three sets 7-6, 4-6, 6-1 to meet Nicolas Almagro in the final eight.
Tsonga, who had previously defeated the 30-year-old at Wimbledon, needed just two breaks to oust the former world champion, managing to save three of four opportunities and win 71 percent of service points. On the other side, Federer could only convert one break point in the second set, something which helped him to push the meeting into a third set decider.
The Swiss, winner of the 2004 and 2006 editions, won just 63 percent of service points and had a poor return percentage of 29. The two also exchanged 17 aces, ten of which being hit by Federer who committed two double faults, as well. “He beat me at Wimbledon… so I don’t know how much of a surprise it is. He’s playing well. I thought if he was going to play well again, me not at my best, he could do it again. It’s not like he’s beating me the first time,” admitted the Swiss after the game.
Tsonga, who hasn’t won any title so far this season, has gone 2-2 with Federer this year, the Swiss having defeated him at the Doha and Rome Masters. Next up for the French is world number ten Nicolas Almagro, who has also secured a quarter final berth after beating Richard Gasquet in two sets, 7-6, 5-3. Winner of three tournaments this season in Costa do Sauipe, Buenos Aires and Nice, Almagro will meet Tsonga for the second time this season and will also try to grab his first win over the 13th seed.
The Spaniard broke Gasquet three times and managed to save 11 out of 13 break point chances coming from the opposite side. The two exchanged four break points in the first set, something which led to a tight tie break Almagro eventually won at five. Six double faults as well as a poor 44 return percentage also dragged Gasquet down, losing the game in nearly two hours.
Almagro finished the game with a 51 first serve percentage, winning 60 percent of service points and 44 on return, compared to Gasquet who left with a 57 first serve percentage and a 56 one on service. Almagro will meet Tsonga for the fifth time in career, the head to head series being led 4-0 by the French who has last defeated him at this term’s Madrid Masters.
En route to the quarter finals, Almagro beat Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-2, 7-6, while Tsonga follows a 6-4, 7-6 win over Fabio Fognini of Italy and a 6-3, 7-6 victory against Bernard Tomic of Australia. On the same first half of the draw, top seed Novak Djokovic has set a seventh meeting with Gael Monfils after defeating Marin Cilic 7-5, 6-2.
The Serb, who is chasing his ninth season title, stole three breaks from the Croatian who was unable to convert any of his three break point chances, conceding the victory in nearly two hours. Djokovic had a slower start, being threatened with a tie-break at one point. Fortunately, he managed to take the first lead without playing the breaker, while the second set saw the main favorite power through to a four game lead he never let go of.
The world champion finished the game with a solid 73 first serve percentage, winning 70 percent of service points, compared to Cilic who won just 30 percent of return points and 61 on service. Nole’s next opponent Monfils overcame Victor Troicki in a three-set epic, beating him 3-6, 7-6, 7-6. The fifth seed Frenchman broke his opponent twice and conceded four of his own services. Fortunately, the last two sets saw Monfils stay in touch with the victory and push the meeting into two tie-breaks. He managed to save three break point sin the second term and five more in the third one, something which helped him to push the meeting further.
Monfils left with a 60 first serve percentage, three aces and won 66 percent of service points, while the Serb finished the game with a 61 first serve percentage, a 34 one on return and 69 of service points, insufficient for a victory, though. Monfils is to chase his first win over the world champion Djokovic who has defeated him six times in six meetings, last occasion at the 2010 Davis Cup final.
Concerning the second half of the table, Jankop Tipsarevic has impressed with a big win over Rafa Nadal’s killer Ivan Dodig whom the Serb crashed in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4 to meet Tomas Berdych in the quarter final. Tipsarevic stole three breaks from his opponent who was unable to create any break point chance, losing the game in nearly one hour and a half.
The Serb grabbed the victory with a 55 first serve percentage and winning 77 percent of service points. Dodig, by contrast, left the court with a couple of double faults, a 23 return percentage and after winning just 56 percent of service points. Tipsarevic’s next opponent Berdych ousted Ivo Karlovic 6-3, 7-6, setting his third meeting with the Serb whom he has never defeated.
Berdych only converted one out of five break points, hitting at the same tine ten aces to 12 and winning 68 percent of service points. As for the Croatian, Karlovic failed to convert any of his four break points, winning just 32 percent of return points and 63 of service ones. The head to head series between Berdych and Tipsarevic are thus led 2-0 by the 27-year-old who beat the world number nine Czech at the 2004 Stockholm and 2010 Davis Cup.
Finally, Stanislas Wawrinka and Mardy Fish will also be chasing a semi final berth on Friday. Both of them follow three-set wins against Kevin Anderson and Ernests Gulbis respectively. Wawrinka edged Andy Murray killer Kevin Anderson 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 after breaking the South African twice. The Swiss had a solid service, winning 72 percent of his points, compared to his opponent who finished the game with a 66 service percentage.
Anderson broke Wawrinka just once in the second set and saved six out of eight chances form the opposite side. But that was not sufficient for a victory as the African conceded the victory in nearly two hours. Swiss’s next opponent Mardy Fish, winner in Atlanta this year, beat Gulbis 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 after picking three breaks out of 12 opportunities.
Gulbis broke the American twice in the first and third set, but was unable to stay in touch with the victory as two services cost him the win in the third term. Fish will meet Wawrinka for the second time, having last defeated the 26-year-old at the 2007 New Haven event.
Montreal Masters Prize Money and points:
Winner – $450,000 and 1000 points ATP
Runner-up – $224,000 and 600 points ATP
Semi finalist – $114,825 points ATP
Quarter finalist – $59,700 and 360 points ATP
R16 – $31,280 and 90 points ATP
R32 – $16,375 and 45 points ATP
R56 – $8,570 and 10 points ATP
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