Juan Martin Del Potro will take on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the third
round of Internazionali BNL d'Italia today.
Del Potro had a tough three setter against Michael Llodra in the first round but
an easier straight sets victory over Mikhail Youzhny in the second round.
Tsonga had it easy against Viktor Troicki defeating him in straight sets 6-3
6-2. Del Potro leads Tsonga 5-1 in the previous encounters.
It will be a fight between aggression and aggression. If one player
hits a winner, the opponent will not be far behind; and if he commits an
unforced error, the opponent again will not be far behind. In the process, the
player with better defence is likely to carry the day. Both the players are
known to make unforced errors while trying to hit harder and harder. The
playing styles however provide a contrast. Del Potro is a baseliner while
Tsonga forays to the net at the first available opportunity. He is not in the
mould of the serve and volley player like Llodra but tries to open the net
space with an approach shot. He might be more successful against players who
play up with lot of top spin, but Del Potro keeps a lower net clearance on the
passing shot. Tsonga has the speed but not quick footwork. Del Potro moves well
for his size, but players like Roger Federer have exploited this through acute
angles. Del Potro relies on his ground strokes and is more of a one dimension
player. If that dimension is not working, he has nothing to fall back upon.
Tsonga has multiple shots, but does not have multiple game styles. If plan A
does not work, he finds it difficult to introduce plan B. He does not utilize
his repertoire fully. Instead he goes in for more and more attack and commits errors.
Del Potro has the mental strength to withstand the weaker moments of
the match. Tsonga sometimes needs the support of the crowd to pull himself out
of the difficult situation. He can lose intensity or focus in between
brilliance and find himself trying to over perform during important phases of
the match. Del Potro can hang in to ride over the burst of brilliance from the
other side, whereas patience is not Tsonga’s strong point.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is the higher ranked player, but
cannot derive any advantage from this. He will have to turn in a higher
performance to thwart Del Potro who appears to be in better form.
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