In a gripping final at the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris, France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga delighted the home crowd as he grabbed the final Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai berth by defeating defending champion David Nalbandian 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 on Sunday.
Tsonga, who began the day at No. 8 in the ATP 2008 Race, received a further 30 points with the title to leap frog Juan Martin del Potro and claim seventh place.
The victory not only grants Tsonga a place at the prestigious circuit finale to be held at the Qi Zhong Stadium in Shanghai from November 9-16, it also earns him his first ATP Masters Series title.
The Le Mans native, who was seeded 13th this week, becomes the first French champion at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy since Sebastien Grosjean in 2001 (d. Kafelnikov), who also secured his place at Tennis Masters Cup with the victory. It is the third time since Grosjean’s triumph in ’01 that a French player has qualified at the BNP Paribas Masters, with Richard Gasquet also doing so last year courtesy of a semifinal run. Tsonga is also the first player since Grosjean to have qualified for the season-ending championships by having to win the Paris title.
The French crowd made its voice heard from the moment the players walked onto Court Central and certainly inspired both players to produce, at times, marvelous tennis. Tsonga enjoyed a fast start to his debut ATP Masters Series final, breaking serve in the second game as an edgy Nalbandian double faulted. The 23-year-old saved a break point in the seventh game before going on to confidently close out the set after 32 minutes.
Tsonga had the chance to gain an early break advantage in the second set as Nalbandian double faulted, however the Argentine quickly alleviated the danger with one of just four aces he served throughout the encounter.
Tsonga’s serve was a huge weapon as he fired 25 aces in the two hour match and it got him out of trouble in the eighth game of the second set when he trailed 0-40 before digging out the game to level at 4-4. Nalbandian persisted to chip away at the resistance of Tsonga though and reaped his reward as the Frenchman slipped to a 0-40 deficit when serving at 4-5 and Nalbandian leveled the match as Tsonga netted a forehand on his first set point.
Tsonga was quick to hit back, riding out to an early lead in the deciding set with a break of serve in the third game as Nalbandian netted a backhand. Nalbandian continued to fight hard and was denied the chance to break back by a Tsonga ace at 2-3. The Cordoba resident was presented with three final chances as nervous play from Tsonga saw him trail 0-40 when serving for the match at 5-4. But Tsonga’s nerve held strong and brave play from the right-hander, including his 25th ace, brought up his first match point, which he converted as Nalbandian’s shot found the net.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga now will become the No. 1 French player and join countryman Gilles Simon in Monday’s Top 10 of the South African Airways ATP Rankings; he began the season ranked No. 43. This will mark the first time since October 3, 1988 (Yannick Noah No. 8; Henri Leconte No. 10) that two French players are in the Top 10.
Tsonga now owns two ATP titles after winning his first at Bangkok (d. Djokovic) in September. The La Rippe, Switzerland native, who missed three months of the ATP circuit over the summer following right knee surgery, was a finalist at the Australian Open at the start of the season (l. to Djokovic).
The 26-year-old Nalbandian, who defeated Rafael Nadal in last year’s final, was bidding to become the first player to win back-to-back titles in Bercy (since 1986).
The right-hander, who also would have qualified for Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai had he won the title, was bidding for his third ATP Masters Series title and has a 2-4 record in finals.
He will now focus his attentions on Argentina’s clash with Spain in the Davis Cup final, to be played at Mar del Plata in Argentina, November 21-23.
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