Sport - Tennis

Tsonga to play Nalbandian in final

PARIS: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga ensured home representation in the Paris Masters tennis final by defeating James Blake of the United States 6-4, 6-3 in the semifinals on Saturday.

It will be a first appearance in a Masters Series final for the 23-year-old from Le Mans who burst onto the world stage with his astonishing run into the Australian Open final in January.

And a win over David Nalbandian in Sunday’s title-match will qualify him for his first ever Masters Cup in Shanghai from November 9 to 16.

Blake held serve to start but Tsonga then rattled off three straight games including a break of serve to love taking charge of the net and sending the American back-pedalling.

Blake, who had needed to make the final to clinch his place in Shanghai, was being over-powered by the big Frenchman, and he promptly dropped the first set 6-4.

Tsonga again broke Blake’s serve to open the second set and the way the younger man was serving there was little chance of a turnaround in fortunes. The result ended Blake’s Masters Cup hopes, made sure of qualification for seventh-ranked Juan Martin del Potro and the winner of Sunday’s final between Nalbandian and Tsonga will complete the eight-man line-up in Shanghai.

Earlier, Nalbandian swept into the final for the second straight year by defeating Nikolay Davydenko 6-1, 5-7, 6-4.

The results: At Quebec (Bell Challenge): Quarterfinals: Aleksandra Wozniak bt Galina Voskoboeva 6-2, 6-2; Angela Haynes bt Nathalie Dechy 2-6, 7-6, 6-3; Bethanie Mattek bt Melanie Oudin 7-6, 6-1; Nadia Petrova bt Melinda Czink 6-1, 6-4.

At Paris (Paris Masters): Semifinals: David Nalbandian bt Nikolay Davydenko 6-1, 5-7, 6-4; Jo-Wilfried Tsonga bt James Blake 6-4, 6-3. Quarterfinals: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga bt Andy Roddick 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(5). — Agencies

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