Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga had to play his best tennis and then some in his first ever five-set match to overcome a superb display from Spaniard Nicolas Almagro, clinching a scintillating final set to win 6-3 6-4 4-6 6-7(6) 9-7 in their fourth round match at Hisense Arena.
Tsonga’s victory sets up a quarter-final encounter with Serb Novak Djokovic in what will be a tantalising rematch of the final of Australia Open 2008.
World No. 10 Tsonga lost that final two years ago, but has been a crowd favourite in Australia ever since. In the closing stages of Monday’s match, most in the crowd were chanting for the charismatic Frenchman, drowning out the few Spanish fans cheering for Almagro. But the placid Spaniard gained many admirers on Monday night, as he clawed back from two sets down and had chances to break Tsonga in the fifth set.
After cleaning up the first two sets in little over an hour, Tsonga was looking good for a straight-sets victory. But in the third set, his game started to unravel. Meanwhile, a stoic Almagro remained calm under fire, with his classic single-handed backhand firing.
An agitated Tsonga was putting all the pressure on himself. Having never played a five-setter in his career, it seemed he was keen to avoid one with Almagro, who had a career 6-5 record in matches going the distance, two of those wins in five sets coming in this tournament.
In the third set and down 4-5 on serve, Tsonga hit two forehands into the net and another one long. A further double-fault saw the third set go to Almagro 6-4.
The fourth set continued with high-quality tennis as both players continually held serve. Almagro seemed impenetrable until a backhand error gave Tsonga a break point at 4-4. The Frenchman wasted the opportunity with a feeble backhand into the net, and ruefully laughed at his mistake. Almagro then saved another break point with a bullet of a shot that hit the line. In only his second fourth-round appearance at a major, the Spaniard was clearly not suffering from nerves.
The fourth set entered a tie-breaker with neither player able to get a stranglehold. At 5-5, Tsonga’s second serve was called out. He had no challenges remaining, giving Almagro a set point.
Almagro was unable to convert the set point, but down 6-7 in the tie-breaker, Tsonga chopped at a straightforward volley and floated it wide. A delighted Almagro roared to his supporters.
Tsonga said that Almagro had played “just unbelievable” in the final three sets. “It was just tough, you know, to play against him at this moment because he hit the ball very hard,” Tsonga said post-match.
Fans were on the edge of their seats in the final set. At 3-3, Tsonga hit a forehand into the bottom of the net to give Almagro a break point. Two aces from the 24-year old Frenchman and a third unplayable serve soon had the crowd back on their feet and cheering.
At 5-5 in the fifth set, both players were still able to share a smile after Tsonga dug out an impossible half-volley drop shot from a dipping Almagro backhand.
Serving at 7-8, Almagro chose the wrong time to try a drop shot, as Tsonga chased it down and hit a winner. A further three winners in the game gave Tsonga the match in three-and-a-half hours.
After the match Tsonga admitted it was great to win. “When you win your first five set match, you're happy,” he said.
On his upcoming quarter-final with Djokovic, Tsonga said his plan was to play aggressively. “Stay aggressive, very aggressive, and give everything,” he said with his familiar grin.
Fast facts
- Both players had a similar number of unforced errors – 42 for Tsonga, 40 for Almagro.
- Tsonga had 77 winners to Almagro’s 46.
- The Frenchman won 174 points to Almagro’s 160.
- Tsonga’s average first serve speed was 193km/h compared to Almagro’s 178km/h.
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