ATP Tour - Tsonga takes maiden title in Bangkok

Eurosport - Mon, 29 Sep 08:51:00 2008

Second-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga won his maiden tour title after beating top seed Novak Djokovic 7-6 6-4 at the Thailand Open in Bangkok.

TENNIS 2008 ATP Bangkok Tsonga - 0

Tsonga exacted his revenge for his loss to Djokovic in this year's Australian Open final with a determined performance to deny the Serb his fourth title of the year.

The 576,000-dollar Bangkok tournament was only the Frenchman's second since returning from a three-month layoff following knee surgery.

"This win is very special, I've wanted this since I was young," Tsonga said. "This is a dream come true.

"I'm happy to win - Novak is a great player."

Tsonga, who burst on to the scene as an unseeded giant-killer at the Australian Open, said he had feared playing the world number three because he knew his game too well.

"I was nervous about playing him, it's difficult with my game," he said. "If you hit the ball hard at him, he hits it back harder.

"In tennis, you have to enjoy the moment. It's great to win at last and I want to win more and more."

Tsonga overcame a hail of topspin forehands from Djokovic, picking off the Serb with a combination of powerful serves and inch-perfect drop shots.

In a tight second set, Tsonga took control of the match when he broke Djokovic at 4-4 before staving off three break points.

Tsonga turned the game around and took it to match point. He forced the Serb into a desperate lob that landed beyond the baseline before clenching both fists and falling on to his back in celebration.

"I was thinking 'he cannot break me in this game'," Tsonga said with a smile. "This was my game."

Djokovic, who has not won a tournament since the Masters Series in Rome in May, said the best man had won.

"I lost against a great player," he said. "Jo wisely used his opportunities and deserved to win his first title.

"I played a bit too defensive today. You have to take your opportunities and I didn't."

Reuters

Comment 1 - 11 of 11

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  1. terrific, both fantastic players, both are great to­ watch

    From alexlombos, on Mon 29 Sep 4:52PM

  2. A big win for Tsonga and one that's good for tennis­ in that we now have another contender for the big­ titles. The more the merrier. Disappointing for Novak.­ He must be wondering what he has to do to register a­ tournament win. I caught the last few games of this­ match and was impressed by Tsonga and also by Djoko­ from the baseline. He seemed to want to get to the net­ and pressure Tsonga from there, which I feel isn't­ really his game. While Djoko has slightly improved his­ volley, from what I saw, the general quality of his net­ play suggests that he should go to the net sporadically­ rather than as a general tactic. IMO, he's not­ convincing as an all-court player in the style of­ Federer. His form seems to have levelled off a bit­ recently, but he's still reaching semis and finals,­ which is important in that it shows consistency. Apart­ from Wimbledon and Toronto, I don't think he's­ failed to reach the semis of any tournament in the last­ few months. The possible conclusions are that he­ doesn't have what it takes to win anymore or that­ he keeps knocking at the door and that it will finally­ open. I would take the latter view because I think this­ guy is the business. Sooner or later he'll come­ good IMO. CHEERS

    From rhymes450, on Sun 28 Sep 10:31PM

  3. This just proves that tsonga making the australian open­ final wasn't a fluke this guy has real talent­

    LETS GO TSONGA!!

    From nitrous, on Sun 28 Sep 9:38PM

  4. bravo!
    I am a fan of Novak Djokovic but today Tsonga­ was great

    From sv.porfirije, on Sun 28 Sep 9:02PM

  5. WHATS HAPPENED TO DJOKOVIC TO MUCH PRESSURE I THINK­ JUST LIKE ANA IVANOVIC THEY ARE YOUNG AND CAN'T­ HANDLE THE BIG TIME YET BUT THEIR TIME WILL COME SO­ WILL JJ.
    ALISON MERRITT.

    From AJ, on Sun 28 Sep 3:46PM

  6. good job mohamed ali. oops i mean tsonga tennis will be­ better with your skill and flare in the game.

    From football4life, on Sun 28 Sep 3:14PM

  7. Go NOLE Go !!!

    From flashdrg, on Sun 28 Sep 2:55PM

  8. Sing a Tsonga for me Joe-Wilfried! You have beaten­ Nadal and Djokovic in the same year!
    Just promise me­ that you won't beat Roger because I will have to­ write a similar message as lilyuni!

    From parvizi, on Sun 28 Sep 12:34PM

  9. djoko we love u , but face it u r a big loser!!

    From hmb222000, on Sun 28 Sep 12:28PM

  10. come on Tsonga! I hate you for beating Nadal in Ausi­ but I so love you for beating Djokovic! Its great to­ have you back on the tour...........

    From Yunike Phostina, on Sun 28 Sep 12:18PM

  11. WOO-HOO!!! Go Tsonga!!! You were great today man, keep­ playing those amazing forehands and perfect­ dropshots!!!

    From Todor, on Sun 28 Sep 12:08PM
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