Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the big Frenchman with the Muhammad Ali looks and the boxer's punch in his volleys, fought his way through to the semifinals of the ATP World Finals at the 02 Arena in London with a superb 7-6, 4-6, 6-3 defeat of world No. 2 Rafael Nadal on Thursday.
Tsonga scored one of the best wins of his career, reaching the semis for the first time by charging the net at every opportunity, winning 27 of 36 sorties to the forecourt as the Spaniard tried to stem the tide from his favorite position on the baseline. It did not work because apart from serving problems, Nadal made too many mistakes off the ground for a player who has built a career on his relentless ability to return every ball, and still has not tasted victory here at the season's final event. He failed to reach the semis for the second time in five tries.
Even though the all-or-nothing Tsonga made far more so-called unforced errors — 45 to Nadal's 24 — the fact that Nadal offered up so many to a grateful opponent ruined any chance he had of maintaining the comeback he'd managed to stage in the second set. The fatal crack in the Spaniard's armor appeared at 1-1 in the third when Nadal went down 0-30 with a double fault, then hit wide for 0-40. Two points later, big Jo, proving he has touch as well as power, came up with a lovely stop volley that Rafa, charging in, could only push into the net.
Even though Nadal had beaten Tsonga comprehensively in straight sets on clay in the Davis Cup semifinal in September, he had no illusions going into this encounter. Tsonga had beaten him on grass at the Queen's Club in the summer, and back in 2008, he destroyed Nadal 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 in the semifinal of the Australian Open. Perhaps it was no coincidence that he had been looking at a video of that victory in Melbourne this week.
"I thought 'Wow!' I was running faster, hitting harder, but I was crazy on the court," Tsonga said. "This year, I think I improved that. I may be less fast, less powerful, but I'm better in my head."
We were expecting big things from Tsonga back then, and although he has never really reached the heights some had expected of him, there are signs now this more mature attitude is starting to make him a major threat to the game's hierarchy.
But Tsonga was no surprise to Nadal, who was more worried about himself.
"Jo knows where I hit every ball during the point," he said. "I didn't have surprise shots during all the match. So, that's very difficult at this level, no? I was solid, but too slow with the legs. If the first two sets wasn't bad, but wasn't good, the third was disaster. That's true, no?"
Unhappily for this great champion and hugely likeable man, that was indeed true. More revealingly, he acknowledged his mediocre form of late is the result of many things, including having "a little bit less passion for the game because I was a little bit more tired than usual."
That will be of concern to his millions of fans worldwide, several of whom cheered themselves hoarse among the crowd of 17,500 as their hero struggled to find his game. But there will be no lack of passion when he joins up with his teammates in Seville this weekend to begin practice on his favorite clay courts for the Davis Cup final against Argentina. But lack of confidence? That may be an issue. He's not talking like a man who is full of it at the moment.
"Here I was a little slower than usual because my mind wasn't perfect, so the reaction was late. On clay I have more time to think. I will try my best every day to win the Davis Cup for my country. I'm going to have the right team there supporting me and practicing hard. But if I am not in the right condition, the captain can choose another player."
Only in extremis.
Earlier, Mardy Fish bowed out of his first ATP Finals with his head held high, having given Roger Federer a good run for his money before going down 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 in a round-robin match that had nothing on it. Federer was through to the semis no matter what, and that may have affected his play.
"I definitely struggled a little bit more today," he said. "But I thought that was more due to the circumstances (not needing to win) and Mardy actually playing well for most of the match."
Fish found it hard to leave London with a 0-3 record, but as his 30th birthday looms he was able to keep everything in perspective.
"I was honored just to be part of it," he said. "To be part of eight guys still playing tennis at this late date in the year, there's a lot of guys who would want to be here who weren't — a lot of great players. I'll spend the next five weeks or so working on some of my weaknesses and hope that when I turn 30, it doesn't mean I'll go backwards."
Then he headed off for a Thanksgiving dinner with his team and his family who are with him.
"Unfortunately for me, I live in Los Angeles and my family still lives in Florida, so I don't get to spend many holidays with them. They're actually here, which is nice, so I can cherish that as well."
