Second-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga extended his impressive winning streak to nine straight matches on Sunday by posting a 6-4, 6-4 victory over fellow Frenchman Lucas Pouille in the final of the Open 13 Marseille in France. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI |
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Second-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga extended his impressive winning streak to nine straight matches on Sunday by posting a 6-4, 6-4 victory over fellow Frenchman Lucas Pouille in the final of the Open 13 Marseille in France.
Tsonga, who is ranked 11th in the world, required just 69 minutes to defeat the fourth-seeded Pouille and claim his third career title in Marseille (2009, 2013) and second overall in as many weeks. The 31-year-old ended a two-year title drought by winning the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam a week ago before claiming his 14th career championship on Sunday.
"This is the second week in a row that I'm heading home without a loss, it does not happen so often," Tsonga said. "It's good for my confidence."
Tsonga, who defeated defending champion Nick Kyrgios in the semifinals, recorded seven aces and won 40 of 46 service points to keep Pouille on the defensive.
"Honestly I was very solid on my serve today, it helped me playing relaxed, and I created chances on his serve by playing very well," Tsonga said.
Tsonga is expected to return to the top 10 at No. 7 on Monday when the new ATP rankings are revealed.
Tsonga improved to 2-0 in his career against the 23-year-old Pouille. He won the previous matchup last year at the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters.
Pouille was denied in his quest for his second career title as his lone championship came last September at the Moselle Open in Metz, France.
