TENNIS – Roger Federer fought back from losing the first set against Jo Wilfred Tsonga to reach the semifinal at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters for the first time since 2008. Federer was on verge of defeat at 5-6 0-30 before forcing the second set to the tie-break. Tsonga saved 15 break points before Federer managed to convert his 16th break point at the start of the third set. The tie-break win was the turning point for Federer who cruised to a easy 6-1 in the decider to join his compatriot Stan Wawrinka in the semifinals. by Diego Sampaolo
Interviews and images from Monte-Carlo
The third quarter final match between Federer and Tsonga was expected to be a great match and it certainly lived up to the hopes of the crowd who packed the Central Court of the Monte-Carlo Country Club on a cool afternoon.
The first set went on serve until 2-2 when Federer earned a break point chance but Tsonga saved it to take a 3-2 lead. Roger made a lot of unforced errors and Tsonga built up a 5-2 lead before closing out the first set with 6-2 after 35 minutes.
Early in the second set Federer received a very rare warning from the chair umpire when he hit a ball out of the stadium. Tsonga earned a break point on Federer’s serve when he was leading 6-2 3-2 but he hit his backhand into the net. The Frenchman went up 6-5 30-0 on Federer’s serve and came just two points away from winning the match but Federer showed his mental strength when he forced the second set to the tie-break. Federer opened up a 6-3 lead in the tie-break but Tsonga saved three set points. At 6-6 Tsonga fired a forehand into the net before Federer clinched the fourth set point chance with a forehand volley for 8-6.
“It was not close only in the breaker but I think I was down 6-6 30-0. A tough point at 15-30 with a half volley backhand defense. It wasn’t looking good there. It was frustrating for a long period of time missing all those breakpoints. Looking back I can take some positives from this match. It was a tough day at the office. I am happy I found the way to tough it out.”, said Federer
Tsonga, who reached the semifinal in Monte-Carlo last year, fended off 13 break points in the first two sets which lasted 1 hour and 56 minutes.
Tsonga fended two more break points (the 14th and the 15th of the match) but Federer finally managed to break serve on his 16th break point for 2-0 in the second game of the third set. Roger broke serve once more to cruise to a easy 5-0 in the decisive set. Tsonga avoided the bagel in the sixth game but Federer claimed the win in the following game after two hours and 26 minutes.
Federer hit 40 winners to 45 unforced errors and won 21 points at the net. He delighted the crowd with some spectacular shots but he converted just 2 of his 19 break point chances after recording a perfect break point conversion rate in his previous three matches of this tournament.
Federer is looking to win for the first time in Monte-Carlo, one of the three Master 1000 titles missing from his trophy cabinet. The other two Master 1000 tournaments he never won are Rome and Shanghai. He won a total of 21 tournaments of this category.
After the shock defeat of eight-time Monte-Carlo champion Rafael Nadal in the Spanish derby against David Ferrer, Federer managed to avoid another upset reaching the semifinal for the fourth time in his career. He lost three consecutive finals against Nadal in 2006, 2007 and 2008.
Two Swiss players will play in the semifinals for the first time in the long history of the Monte-Carlo Tournament. Earlier Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka beat Milos Raonic 7-6 (7-5) 6-2.
“The conditions were changing a lot during the match. It was becoming colder and the balls were not bouncing that much anymore and it was difficult for me to give some height. He had more and more of those balls at the height of his hips. That’s where he feels more comfortable. It was more difficult for me to put away from him. I forced myself a bit and I go into trouble”, said Tsonga.
“I don’t think it was much of a change, to be quite honest”, replied Federer. “It went through phases and it definitely got cooler rather than warmer. I don’t think there was any wind change. We played in those conditions millions of times. I think conditions were quite nice from the start to finish. The ball wasn’t bouncing all over the place. It was quite frustrating that we weren’t playing better. I don’t think our best matched up. When he was playing well, he was in the lead. Finally, when I got the lead, I was dominating”
After escaping the big scare in the second set, the third set was like a stroll for Federer. “Losing the second set was tough for Jo. I just thought it was important to hold my first service game. It was my opportunity to be in the lead for the first time in the match. I really believed that I was going to come through. It’s not possible to go through so many breakpoints. I was playing good enough to make the break and serve my way home. The most important was to carve out the positive stuff in my mind.even during the first two sets when things got tough. It was frustrating to waste so many breakpoints. I chucked a ball of the stadium”, said Federer
The Swiss Maestro set up a semifinal clash against Novak Djokovic who also survived a big scare after losing the first set against Spaniard Guillermo Garcia Lopez but he rallied from a set down to win 4-6 6-3 6-1. Djokovic will meet Federer for the 34th time. The Swiss leads 17-16 in their previous head-to-head matches. This year Federer won a fantastic semifinal in Dubai but Djokovic took the re.match winning the Indian Wells final in three sets.
“Reaching the semifinal helps me feeling more relaxed for the following Master 1000 tournaments. It helps you knowing where you stand. I am not the most favoured player but tomorrow might be an opportunity for a good performance. There is nothing guaranteed but I will try”, said Federer.
