21. 02. 2009. ยท For the fourth time in a row Novak didn’t find a solution for Tsonga’s game.
The Frenchman advanced to the finals of the tournament in Marseille after defeating number one seed in two sets, 6:4 7:6(1) in 84 minutes.
No.4 seed was unstoppable during the whole match.
There were no breaks in the first six games of the opening set. Tsonga earned a break point in the seventh game, and converted it to go up 4:3. He then held to increase his lead to 5:3. At 5:4, Novak had 0-40 on his opponent’s service and a chance to get back into the set, but the Frenchman hit five atomic services to take the set 6:4.
Djokovic saved two break points in the seventh game of the second set. Both players held their services, and the set went to a tie-breaker. Tsonga dominated and won it 7-1.
Novak got 70 ATP points and 25,900 euros for reaching the semifinals of the Open 13 tournament.
He will play in Dubai next week. Nadal and Federer withdrew, and Nole will be no.1 seed.
