Sport
Tsonga ready for Nadal
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga feels he is capable of matching it with any opponent after beating Mardy Fish at the ATP World Tour Finals on Tuesday.
World number six Tsonga downed American Fish 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 in their Group B clash at London’s O2 Arena.
It was the Frenchman’s first victory after he lost his opening match to defending champion Roger Federer on Sunday.
“It’s really good to win for the first time here,” said Tsonga, who will now face Rafael Nadal with a place in the last-four up for grabs.
“Of course it’s good for my confidence too as I will play a match to qualify for the semis in the next round. So it’s really good and I’ve been waiting for it.”
Tsonga came to prominence thanks to his flamboyant performances during a run to the final of the 2008 Australian Open, where he lost to Novak Djokovic.
The 26-year-old, who upset Federer in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon this year, says he is still searching for consistency but believes he can be a match for any opponent on his day.
“I don’t really know what my best level is, tennis is a bit difficult because sometimes on two points you can play really well, and the next point you put the ball in the base of the net,” he said.
“But when I’m very aggressive and I put a lot of pressure on my opponent, I’m able to play with everybody.”
Tsonga’s opponent, world number eight Fish, has now lost two from two, following his opening defeat to Nadal on Sunday.
The 29 year-old, who must now tackle five-time winner Federer, is disappointed not to have made more of an impact in his first appearance at the season-ending competition.
“I feel like I can win, I felt like I could win both the matches that I’ve already played and I didn’t,” Fish said.
“I worked very hard this past year, this past two years and made a lot of sacrifices and these are the rewards, playing in an event like this.”
“It’s just very, very disappointing to not be able to play at the level I would like to play at.”