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Last year Australian Open men’s runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was the surprise packet. This year, he’s expected to do well.
And the Frenchman is doing just that as he again marches through the tournament, cruising to the quarter-finals with a minimum of fuss by brushing aside American James Blake in straight sets at Rod Laver Arena on Monday night.
Just like Tsonga himself, his 6-4 6-4 7-6 (7-3) win over ninth seed Blake was a mixture of comfort and brilliance.
Laid back when he snatched the advantage from Blake, up and about when he needed to lift.
The Frenchman grabbed service breaks in the opening two games of the first two sets, then saved two set points in the third to reclaim a service break and take the set to a tie-break.
Once there, Blake crumbled under a weight of unforced errors and fifth seed Tsonga grabbed victory on his second match point.
At the tournament that provided his breakthrough last year, Tsonga said he was feeling different from the same stage in 2008.
But the 23-year-old said he had learned enough to equip him better for the challenges ahead at Melbourne Park after his defeat by Novak Djokovic in last year’s final.
“For me (this year) is a little bit different. I have more experience now, I move better on court and I hope the results are better,” Tsonga said after booking a quarter-final showdown with Spain’s Fernando Verdasco.
“For me it’s a new round against Verdasco. I know I have my chance and I will try and take it.”
Verdasco, the 15th seed, upset fourth seed Andy Murray 2-6 6-1 1-6 6-3 6-4 earlier on Monday.
Tsonga and Blake’s match was delayed for about 10 minutes by the annual Australia Day fireworks display held nearby.
But, unlike the way similar fireworks marred the 2006 semi-final between Marcos Baghdatis and David Nalbandian,- starting during Baghdatis’s service and throwing him off enough to lose the game and eventually a set – both Tsonga and Blake waited out the show before resuming midway through the third set.
AAP gh/gjw
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