ATP World Tour Finals: Tsonga Beats Fish To Keep Himself In Race

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga met Mardy Fish in the match of Sunday’s losers in Group B with the day’s loser almost definite to go out of the tournament.  Stakes were high for both players.

Mardy Fish was lucky with the toss and elected to serve.  He looked jaded to start with and gave double break point to Tsonga with sloppy play at the net. His intent was right but the body was moving slowly. He saved three break points but could not save the fourth to surrender the advantage of serving first. However, Tsonga could not stomach the gain and gave the break immediately back. Now it was Fish’s generosity to drop the serve in the very next game after committing a double fault at 15-30. The quality of play was not up to the standard from both ends. It was the Frenchman who steadied himself first and started playing with consistency. Fish was finding it difficult to replicate the form he showed against Nadal on Sunday. He not only looked slow but was actually slow. To compound his difficulties, his serve too was not the one that has given him many free points in recent times. But he woke up in the seventh game and took the game at love through good serve and determined play. But by this time, Tsonga had gone in another zone. Both the players were playing their best game and unlike at the beginning, were going through their service games with plenty to spare. At 5-4, it was crucial for Fish to do something to prevent Tsonga from serving out the set. With sheer grit and determination, he brought the set to level terms. And then he surged ahead with a love game. Tsonga had started committing errors on crucial points, as he did against Federer on Sunday. But he managed to take the set to the tie breaker through accurate serves.  He continued precision on serve and sent in four first serves to go up 5-2. Fish too was playing his heart out and keeping pace. Tsonga continued his first serve and took the tie break 7-4. He did not have to serve a single second serve in the entire tie breaker.

In the reversal of the first set, Fish broke in the very first game of the second set. But his fortune was short lived as he gave the advantage back in the very next game. He was not getting the type of short balls that Nadal gave him on Sunday. He saved two break points in the fourth game with brilliant net play but could not save the game since Tsonga was playing with full confidence now. While Fish smashed his racquet on the ground to give vent to his frustration, Tsonga cruised. At 1-4, time was passing fast for Fish. Try as he did, he could not save the third straight service game and with score line at 5-1 on Tsonga serve, the writing was on the wall. Tsonga opened the crucial game with a double fault and followed it up with a long stroke. Fish was running like possessed to save every point. He could not do much however and the set was over 6-1 in Tsonga favour.

Fish did everything and lost. Tsonga winning in straight set has opened up the group and much will depend on the night match between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.