France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has sent out a warning shot to the rest of the Brisbane International field by winning the Paris Masters.
Having started the year with a defeat in the Australian Open final, Brisbane Jo-Wilfried Tsonga ended it with Masters Cup glory.
Tsonga produced a stunning display of serving and shot-making to beat defending champion David Nalbandian of Argentina 6-3 4-6 6-4 and become the first Frenchman since Sebastien Grosjean in 2001 to win the indoor tournament.
“I think tomorrow I’ll be in some pain, especially after the party I’m going to have,” Tsonga said.
The 23-year-old Tsonga’s second career title gave him the eighth and final spot in the ATP race and a spot in the prestigious season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai next week.
Buoyed by his success at the Bercy indoor arena in Paris, Tsonga now heads to China with his eyes fixed on the prize.
“I think the Masters will be a very important moment for me,” Tsonga said. “Maybe another great victory could replace this one. Why not? I’m going to give my best.”
Tsonga lost the Australian Open final to Novak Djokovic, but beat the Serb in Paris, and also in the final when he won his first career title in Bangkok, Thailand in October.
Nalbandian’s form heading into today’s final had looked imperious, but it dipped at the wrong time against Tsonga.
“I think he served better than me and that was pretty much the key of the match,” Nalbandian said. “I didn’t play badly, but I didn’t play like the other days. I couldn’t move naturally.”
The 13th-seeded Tsonga clinched victory when Nalbandian hit the ball into the net after having missed three break points to pull back to 5-5.
“I was playing with 15,000 people. Everybody was behind me today. The crowd was magic,” Tsonga said. “Sometimes I had to calm them down because I was perturbed. It was so fabulous.”
The eighth-seeded Nalbandian was gracious in defeat.
“He’s a great player and has played brilliantly all week,” Nalbandian said. “He deserves this title.”
Tsonga joins seven other players in Shanghai, starting Nov. 9, while Nalbandian missed his chance to qualify.
Nalbandian had only four aces compared to 25 for Tsonga.
“Sometimes I couldn’t return his serves,” Nalbandian said. “He won the first set so easily, so fast. Then everything was hard for me.”
Tsonga broke Nalbandian’s serve for a 2-1 lead in the deciding set, and saved a break point in the sixth game with an ace.
Nalbandian’s frustration showed in the eighth game when he slammed his racket to the ground. But he kept his composure to hold serve in the ninth game and then had Tsonga down 0-40. However, Tsonga saved all three breakpoints, then hit an ace to set up match point and get the crowd on their feet.
Tsonga’s first serve flew into the net, but his second pinned Nalbandian to the back of the court and he went on to win the resulting rally.