Tsonga takes title

 

Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:08

Tsonga, the 13th seed, displayed nerves of steel in his first Masters Series final by claiming a 6-3 4-6 6-4 victory in front of his jubilant home crowd on Sunday.

The 23-year-old’s serve was the key as he banged 25 aces past the eighth seed, whose game was nowhere near the dizzy heights it reached in his quarter-final win over Andy Murray and in patches of his semi-final triumph over Nikolay Davydenko.

The Argentinian would have qualified automatically for Shanghai had he won but as it is, Tsonga is the man to finish seventh in the ATP Points Race and earn a direct passage to China.

In claiming his second title of the year, he becomes the first French winner of the Bercy event since 2001, when Sebastien Grosjean picked up the title here.

He will move into the world’s Top 10 on Monday and with three other Les Bleus – Gilles Simon, Richard Gasquet and Gael Monfils – in the top 20, it is a booming time for French tennis.

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