Nishikori needed just 22 minutes to shut out Tsonga in the opening set, marking the first time the Frenchman lost a set 0-6 since last year’s Masters 1000 event in Shanghai (vs. Nadal). Wanting a more competitive match, the French crowd voiced their displeasure at Tsonga.
“My reaction is, Okay, you're booing me? No problem. I'm going to continue to try to do my best,” said Tsonga. “It was a good thing for me when they booed, because it made me react and become more aggressive afterwards.”
But Tsonga rebounded strongly by grabbing the break of serve in the second set to level the match. The Japanese star broke Tsonga at 4-3 and held two match points on his serve in the next game, but the Frenchman erased them with gutsy tennis and eventually forced a final-set tie-break. Tsonga went on a four-point run to lead 4/1 and closed out the contest with his second match point in exactly two hours.
Fittingly, Tsonga also prevailed after receiving his last 0-6 set against Nadal in Shanghai.
8 янв 2017
