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Tsonga comes alive to beat Djokovic at Shanghai Masters

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France hits a return against Novak Djokovic of Serbia in their men’s singles match on the fifth day of the ATP Masters Cup tennis tournament in Shanghai yesterday. PHOTO: AFP

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France ended his Masters Cup drought with a 1-6, 7-5, 6-1 victory yesterday over Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, who already had clinched a spot in the semi-finals.

Tsonga, eliminated after losing his first two Gold Group matches in his debut at the season-ending tournament, looked listless early before coming alive and winning five consecutive games from 5-5 in the second set to take control.

Djokovic beat Tsonga in the Australian Open final in January for his first Grand Slam title but now has lost their past three meetings, including at the Paris Masters two weeks ago.

Tsonga was unusually subdued early in the match, showing only flashes of the form that carried him to the title in Paris — an event he had to win to qualify for this tournament.

Djokovic, continuing his efforts to end the stranglehold that Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have had on the top two spots in the rankings, broke Tsonga twice while finishing the first set in just 25 minutes. Tsonga pulled himself together in the second set, saving two breakpoints while serving at 2-2, then finally broke through as Djokovic served at 5-6. The Serb had four unforced errors in the game, sending a forehand long on set point.

Another four mistakes handed Tsonga an early break in the third set. Tsonga broke again, at love, to take a 5-1 lead, then held at love, flicking a lob winner on match point.

Russian Nikolay Davydenko outslugged Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro 6-3 6-2 in a winner-takes-all battle for a place in the semi-final yesterday.

Four-time Masters Cup winner Federer has to win today to get through.

He faces Andy Murray, who is 2-0 in the Red Group and has already guaranteed himself a place in the semis.

Gilles Simon of France still has a chance if Federer falters. He will play 26th-ranked Radek Stepanek, who replaced Andy Roddick when the American pulled out on Wednesday with a sprained ankle.
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