Tsonga Continues London Charge, Sets All-French Final

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has gone from the fringe of the Emirates ATP Race To London to the thick of the battle in less than two weeks, as he continues his push to qualify for a third Nitto ATP Finals.

The Frenchman helped his cause by beating Philipp Kohlschreiber, 7-6(4), 7-5 in the semi-finals of the Erste Bank Open 500 on Saturday in Vienna to advance to his third final at the event and his fifth final this season.

“I’m playing well. I’m playing good tennis,” Tsonga said. “Truly happy with my level this week…tomorrow it’s the final and only the winner [of the final] counts so I will give my best to be the winner.”

Tsonga, who was 22nd in the Race at the beginning of last week, has surged into contention with a title in Antwerp and now his appearance in the Vienna final. He has moved into 14th in the Race, and if he claims the title would have 2,510 points, just 95 points behind Pablo Carreno Busta, who currently holds the final qualifying spot.

It was his 10th win in a row against the German, extending his lead in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series to 11-1. Tsonga also continued his impressive indoor play, advancing his ATP World Tour-best indoor record this season to 20-2.

In the key moments of the match, it was Tsonga who proved to have too much firepower. Throughout most of the battle, the Frenchman actually allowed Kohlschreiber to dictate play. But when it mattered most he stepped into the court and that paid dividends.

Tsonga fell behind a break in the opening set before immediately evening affairs. He trailed just once in the ensuing tie-break, at 1-2, before claiming six of the next eight points to seal the opener. In the second set there were no breaks until 5-5, when the right-hander laced a forehand return winner on his first of three break opportunities to gain the only advantage he needed, closing out the match with an ace.

“I served really well. It’s good, gives me confidence when I can serve like this,” Tsonga said. “Hopefully it will continue like this tomorrow.”

Tsonga will face compatriot Lucas Pouille in the final, after the 23-year-old right-hander came back to defeat Kyle Edmund in three sets earlier on Saturday. It will be a rematch of this year’s Marseille final, as Tsonga took out the up-and-comer to clinch one of his four titles on the year. He has beaten Pouille in both of their FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings, winning all four sets 6-4. 

“It’s going to be special, because he’s the new generation. I will not say I’m the old one, but I’m the older generation,” Tsonga joked. “It’s going to be a good match.”

Pouille Falls Short Of Second Final

After advancing to the singles final, Pouille had an opportunity to reach the doubles final as well with #NextGenATP Karen Khachanov. But Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters champions Rohan Bopanna and Pablo Cuevas defeated the French-Russian duo, 7-6(2), 6-4 to move on to their second final as a team this season.

Bopanna and Cuevas will face Marcelo Demoliner and Sam Querrey, who received a walkover in the semi-final as Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic had to withdraw due to Marach’s back injury. Demoliner and Querrey defeated Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, the second seeds, in the second round.

 Watch Full Match Replays