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Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France returns a shot to Albert Ramos of Spain in their quarter-final match of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open tennis tournament at Khalifa Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha yesterday. Tsonga won 6-2, 6-1. PICTURE: Jayan Orma |
Defending Champion Roger Federer will take on third seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, while top seed Rafael Nadal will clash with fourth seed Gael Monfils in the semi-finals of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open here at the Khalifa Tennis and Squash Complex today.
World No 3 Federer, for the first time in the tournament, was stretched by eighth seeded Andreas Seppi of Italy but the latter couldn’t stop the Swiss from widening his unbeaten record to 20 matches. Federer won the contest 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 in an hour and 38 minutes to confirm his semis berth.
Frenchman Tsonga was the first to qualify for the last four yesterday as he handed Spain’s Albert Ramos a straight sets drubbing 6-2, 6-1 in a clash that lasted just over an hour. World No 1 Nadal eased his way into the semis with another authoritative display of power and precision beating seventh seeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny 6-4, 6-4, while Monfils defeated fifth seed Viktor Troicki of Serbia 6-2, 6-3.
“I think I played really well. The end of the match was a little bit nervy but the rest of it was good. I’m feeling a little better each day and I’m enjoying the tournament so far,” said Nadal who saved three breakpoints in the second set to seal a fine victory.
The 16-times Grand Slam winner Federer started strongly and broke Seppi in the first game but failed to hold his own in the fifth. The Italian could have surged ahead, had he held his serve in the sixth but Federer broke back and then held his serve with ease in the ninth without losing a single point to pocket the first set.
“I thought I started well in the first set. I was able to play aggressive, not giving too much rhythm. He was obviously missing more shots due to that,” recollected Federer, who had never lost a set to Seppi in the last seven previous outings.
A 0-40 lead on Federer’s serve was enough for the Italian to get charged up. Seppi led 5-1 after breaking Federer again in the sixth. Just when one felt that the hard serving Italian was running away with the set, Federer staged a valiant fight back. He won four games in a row to draw parity with Seppi (5-5).
27-yr-old Seppi then somehow stemmed the slide by holding his serve at love and then broke Federer at 15-40 in the 12th to force the match into the third set.
“In the second set, I think he found his range a bit more. I missed a couple of chances, but he was just better overall. I then started playing a bit better to come back into the match, but then he closed it out nice, serving well at 5-all and breaking well at 6-5. I thought he was a better player in that second set and deserved that set,” felt Federer, who made Seppi crack once he went 3-1 up in the decider.
The only time Federer’s serve came under pressure in the third set was in the eighth game. However, Seppi failed to capitalise on the two breakpoints he got and he eventually had to wash his hands off the set match.
Coming to the first match of the day, Spainard Ramos, who got a walk-over from sixth seed (check) Alex Bogomolov Jr of Russia on Wednesday, was simply no match for Tsonga. The Frenchman may have struggled to three-set wins in his first two matches but last evening, he was on the paddle right from the onset. He not only used the court well but his power-packed serves and returns were simply too much for unseeded Ramos to handle.
“I was very aggressive from the very beginning with my play, so I did well today,” said Tsonga, who won the first set after breaking Ramos in the first and seventh games.
A pumped up Tsonga had Ramos, ranked World No 66, completely in this awe once he broke him in the third game. The 26-yr-old, then won four games in a row, to wrap up the set and sent in a clear warning to Federer that he will be a force to reckon. The Frenchmen said he was pleased with his serving, winning 83 per cent of the first-serve points.
“It was good, because I had a good percentage. With the wind, I think it’s a good weapon. When the wind is across the court, you know, I can slice the ball. This is my best serve. When I play a lefty guy, it’s easier for me to put him out of the court. Then the court is open for me and it’s easy.”