Advertisement

Tsonga win in Paris nets spot in London

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, shown at the 2012 Wimbledon Championship, posted a straight-set win Thursday at the Paris Masters that locked up a spot for him in the ATP World Tour Finals next week. UPI/Hugo Philpott
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, shown at the 2012 Wimbledon Championship, posted a straight-set win Thursday at the Paris Masters that locked up a spot for him in the ATP World Tour Finals next week. UPI/Hugo Philpott | License Photo

PARIS, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- Jo-Wilfried Tsonga won a two-tiebreaker match Thursday that put in him both the quarterfinals of the Paris Masters and the ATP World Tour Finals.

Tsonga, the No. 6-seed in Paris, got past 11th-seeded Nicolas Almagro 7-6, (7-4), 7-6 (7-3). It locked up the seventh spot in the eight-player Tour Finals invitational next week in London for Tsonga.

Advertisement

Almagro didn't face a break point but also wasn't able to finish off any of his three break chances as both players won more than three-quarters of the points on serve.

Tsonga edged ahead in the tiebreakers, building a 6-2 lead in the second before ending the match. He is now 6-0 lifetime versus Almagro.

That result also allowed Janko Tipsarevic to qualify for London, since Almagro was the only player with a chance to catch him. Tipsarevic, seeded eighth, defeated ninth-seeded Juan Monaco 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 by converting the only break-point opportunity of the third set in his Thursday match.

Qualifier Jerzy Janowicz, No. 69 in the world, saved a match point in ousting third-seeded Andy Murray 5-7, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2. Janowicz had two third-set breaks to put Murray away.

Advertisement

That means for the first time since the 2010 Paris Masters, there will be a Masters champion other than Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal or Murray. Those four divided up the nine Masters titles last year and the eight to date in 2012.

No. 4 David Ferrer completed the third round with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 decision over 16th-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka.

Also Thursday, fifth-seeded Tomas Berdych got by Kevin Anderson 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, but wild-card entrant Michael Llodra eliminated seventh-seeded Juan Martin del Potro 6-4, 6-3 and Sam Querrey topped 14th-seeded Milos Raonic 6-3, 7-6 (7-1). Gilles Simon advance in a walkover when 15th-seed Kei Nishikori had an ankle injury.

Berdych will go against Simon and Tipsarevic draws Janowicz in one half of the draw Friday while Llodra faces Querrey and Tsonga plays Ferrer in the other.

Latest Headlines