TENNIS ROLAND GARROS – The last time Jo-Wilfried Tsonga met Jerzy Janowicz, it was in Rome 2013. It was their first meeting and the younger Janowicz won that match in straight sets. This time around the Frenchman played a solid match from start to finish and was justly rewarded with the win 6-4 6-4 6-3. Cordell Hackshaw
Interviews, Results, OOP, Draws from the Roland Garros
The last time Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (13) met Jerzy Janowicz (22), it was in Rome 2013. It was their first meeting and the younger Janowicz won that match in straight sets. This time around, in front of his home crowd, Tsonga was not underestimating his opponent nor was he going to let him get another victory at his expense. The Frenchman played a solid match from start to finish and was justly rewarded with the win 6-4 6-4 6-3. It was a highly entertaining matchup with magnificent winners coming off both players’ racquet; 55 altogether in the match. The crowd was heavily invested in this match and so the atmosphere was highly electric.
The first two sets were pretty much the same in so far that 10 games were played and both players did well to keep things even until the crucial 10th game when Janowicz’s inexperience for the better of him. In the first set, neither player would let up on their service game until Tsonga saw the lone break point of the set and took it, 6-4. It was clear that Janowicz was disappointed with this turn of events and looked to correct it immediately in the 2nd set. He broke Tsonga in the opening game and got ahead 3-1 in the set. However, he soon relinquished his hold on the set and things got back on serve 4-4. Tsonga held serve but Janowicz could not do the same. He went again for another ill-advised drop shot on set point which must have felt like bad deja-vu for again Tsonga got there and put away the ball to take the set 6-4.
Again, Janowicz took the early lead by breaking Tsonga in the opening game of the 3rd but soon was facing break points on his own serve. He failed to keep the ball in play and was back on levelled playing field. Tsonga clearly feeding off the crowd’s energy broke his Polish opponent in the 6th game when he double faulted. Tsonga held serve for 5-3 and allowed Janowicz to hold his own serve comfortably. With the crowd cheering every winning point of their countryman, Tsonga converted on his first match point with a serve out wide and a huge forehand into the open court for a 6-4 6-4 6-3 victory in just about two hours. The Frenchman will next face Novak Djokovic (2) who took out Marin Cilic (25) in 4 sets earlier in the day. Tsonga knows that this Round of 16 matchup will be very difficult considering that Djokovic has had such a great year so far and the Serbian leads their head-to-head especially in their most recent meetings. However, with the crowd fully behind him, Tsonga knows that he is capable of getting the upset.
