November 27, 2011: Roger Federer tops Tsonga for the 70th ATP crown!
On this day seven years ago, Roger Federer had claimed his sixth and so far the last ATP Finals title, beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga by 6-3 6-7 6-3 in two hours and 19 minutes. Not only that he passed Ivan Lendl and Pete Sampras who stayed on five ATP Finals crowns, but Roger had also become the fourth player with 70 titles in the Open era after Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl, and John McEnroe! Federer and Tsonga had met for the third straight Sunday, which is very unusual, and this was their eighth match of the season, which was also a record. 15 days earlier, the Swiss and the Frenchman played in the final of Paris Masters and Roger won that one 6-1 7-6.
Seven days later, they opened the ATP Finals round robin action and Federer prevailed 6-2 2-6 6-4 before they both reached the final to be engaged in another entertaining encounter. Despite losing a set, Roger had the upper hand in the final, playing better on both serve and return and getting broken just once from three chances he offered to Tsonga. On the other hand, Jo-Wilfried gave his best to stay in touch, saving six out of nine break points and stealing Roger's serve in the 10th game of the second set when the Swiss served for the title. He also saved a match point in the tie break to force a deciding set where he lost serve once to end on the losing side.
Tsonga had more winners but also more unforced errors, losing the edge in the shortest and mid-range rallies to grab 14 points less than his rival. As was expected, it was a heavyweight contest between two of the finest indoor players on the Tour and they held without troubles in the first seven games. That all changed in the eighth game when Roger hit three good backhands down the line to create three break points, earning a break at love after a huge volley error from Tsonga at the net. After two deuces in game nine, Federer closed the set after forcing an error from his opponent, clinching the opener 6-3 in 35 minutes and hoping for more of the same in the rest of the encounter.
Jo-Wilfried had to dig deep in the third game of the second set, saving two break points with aces to remain in front but Roger got the break next time around with a forehand return winner, moving 3-2 in front. His lead had soon become an even bigger, holding with ease in the sixth game to forge a 4-2 lead, marching towards the finish line and the title. Tsonga lost the ground completely in the last 15 minutes and he was forced to play against another break point in game seven, saving it with a backhand drop shot winner and bringing the game home with two service winners, reducing his deficit to 4-3.
Roger was still pushing strong in his games and he moved a game away from the victory when he held in game eight, forcing Tsonga to serve to stay in the match. Jo-Wilfried did a good job but he now had to score a break if he wanted to prolong the match, not an easy task when we know he had no break points since the start of the match. Out of sudden, he found himself 40-0 in front and he converted his third break chance with a smash at the net, leveling the score at 5-5 and receiving the necessary boost before the rest of the match. Roger earned a break point in game 11 that could have given him the edge again but Tsonga saved it with a brave forehand winner to reach the tie break.
The Frenchman netted an easy forehand to send Roger 3-1 in front and the Swiss hit two winners to increase the lead to 5-2, leaving Jo-Wilfried with no room for further errors. The lower-ranked player kept his focus and he grabbed the next three points to climb back to 5-5 before Roger blasted an ace to earn the match point. Tsonga refused to surrender, hitting a forehand winner to fend it off and a service winner that gave him a set point at 7-6. He seized it with an amazing return and after an hour and 37 minutes the match was heading towards the deciding set, with the momentum on the Frenchman's side now.
He increased the power of his groundstrokes in set number two, keeping the points on his racquet and attacking the net more than Roger, gaining the reward in the end and keeping his chances of winning the biggest title of his career alive. That wasted match point had not left a mark on Roger, though, as he served well in set number three despite the fact he struggled to find the first serve. At 4-3, he was ready to make some damage on the return and he created a break point after a huge forehand error from Tsonga at the net.
The Frenchman closed the door with a nice serve&volley combo and he fends off another break point with a touchy volley winner. Roger stayed in the game and he finally converted his third break chance, forcing an error from his rival to move 5-3 in front and serving for the match in the following game. Unlike in the second set, Federer did nothing wrong this time around, hitting three winners for three championship points and converting the first one to defend the title won 12 months ago and conquer his record-breaking sixth ATP Finals crown in the last nine years.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2Ay3eTA
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