推 truste:Jo的自信真的幫他加很多分 不過玻璃身....保重 01/22 23:58
Ailing Tsonga hangs tough
Thursday 22 January 2009
By Matthew Trollope
Australian Open 2008 finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has battled through pain to
claim a memorable four-set victory over Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia, 6-7(4)
7-6(8) 7-6(7) 6-2 at Hisense Arena on Thursday.
Tsonga, the tournament’s fifth seed, battled for three-and-a-quarter hours
before subduing his opponent and moving through to the third round.
Speaking after the match, Tsonga said he was relieved simply to get through
it.
“I was a little bit lucky,” he said. “But I did it with my hurt [back
pain]. I think it’s really good to win like that.”
The Frenchman began the match clearly hampered, labouring in his movement
along the baseline and pulling up gingerly after particularly strenuous
points. His discomfort was reflected on the scoreboard, with Ljubicic moving
ahead an early break of serve.
Oddly, the Frenchman did not call for the trainer and seemed content to
battle on.
“Tonight my back was very stiff … [but] I know what I have, and I know I
can play with [the pain],” he said.
The Croatian failed to capitalise on his advantage, faltering when serving
for the set at 5-4. Despite the lapse, he hung tough in the ensuing tiebreak
to claim it seven points to four.
Tsonga appeared even more troubled when the second set commenced, grimacing
and struggling to chase down balls as his opponent held for 1-0.
But the experienced Ljubicic – a former world No. 3 – seemed unable to put
his opponent away. He rallied passively up the centre of the court and did
not expose Tsonga’s limited movement.
When not forced to run, Tsonga’s explosive groundstrokes enabled him to stay
competitive, and the two men traded service blows until the set reached a
tiebreak.
While Ljubicic gained the early ascendancy and arrived at a set point leading
seven points to six, Tsonga came roaring back, unleashing a flurry of winners
to claim the breaker 10 points to eight.
Holding to love in the opening game of the third set, the Frenchman’s back
appeared to have loosened, and he began covering the court with greater
assurance. Both players held serve with routine regularity throughout the
set, which again had to be decided by a tiebreaker.
And what a dramatic one it was. Ljubicic again went ahead and picked up three
set points, but Tsonga demonstrated his full repertoire of shots, saving one
with a delicate drop shot and the other with a full-blooded smash.
When Ljubicic made an error to tie proceedings, his presence in the match
appeared to be fading.
Despite saving Tsonga’s first set point with a sweet down-the-line backhand,
the Frenchman was growing in confidence, and he played two solid points to
move ahead two sets to one.
From here, Ljubicic’s resistance crumbled. The powerful Tsonga continually
grew in confidence and began dominating the baseline rallies, scoring breaks
in the fifth and seventh games to move into a commanding position.
He served out the match shortly after, and post-match said he felt better
about his game than in his previous appearance at Melbourne Park.
“I think I play better,” he said. “I’m a little bit more confident maybe
in my game. And yeah, I think I’m better.”
Quick facts
The ace count was an even affair, with Tsonga’s 18 just shadowing Ljubicic’s
17
Tsonga hit 10 more winners than his Croatian opponent, recording an
impressive 71
Ljubicic made 40 unforced errors to Tsonga’s 37
Tsonga was wasteful on break point opportunities, converting just three of 11
chances. Ljubicic capitalised on his one and only break point chance
Hisense Arena - Men's Singles - 2nd Round
Ivan Ljubicic CRO 7[7] 6[8] 6[7] 2
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga FRA (5) Winner 6[4] 7[10] 7[9] 6
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