Jo-Wilfried Tsonga wins first title of the season in Metz

Written by: Resendiz on 26th September 2011

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga wins first title of the season in Metz

French tennis player Jo-Wilfred Tsonga in action against Spanish Rafael Nadal during the Davis Cup match contested at 'Los Califas de Cordoba' bull ring in Cordoba, Southern Spain, 18 September 2011. EPA/JULIO MUNOZ |

World Number Seven Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has won his first title of the year in Metz on Sunday. The popular Frenchman needed three sets to take out Croatian Ivan Ljubicic 6-3 6-7 (4) 6-3.

Tsonga broke serve in the first and seventh game in the first set. After 38 minutes Tsonga was 6-3 up. It looked like the match was going to be finished quickly as the World No. 7 should have taken the lead 5-1. Ljubicic came back and won three games in a row and forced a tiebreak to decide the second set. Tsonga was also leading in the tiebreaker before the Croat came back and took the second set.

The third set was dominated by Tsonga who broke Ljubicic’s serve in the third game and then again in the ninth game. Ljubicic said after the Metz final, “I feel I play as well as I could today. I didn’t have the weapons to beat him today. He was dominating in every aspect of the game. He should have won the second set easily, but he complicated it. I played well today and I hope I can keep playing like this.”

The Metz title is the Frenchman’s first title since he won in Tokyo in 2009. By winning the Metz final Tsonga improves his chances to qualify for the end-of-year Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London. Jo-Wilfried is the third Frenchman to win the title in Metz. The tournament was won by Gael Monfils in 2009 and Gilles Simon in 2010.

“I am so happy to have won the title, it was a long time since I lifted the throphy and I am so happy I was able to do here in Metz, in front of the French public. I knew it was going to be difficult. That’s why I am not surprised about Ivan’s come back in the second set. Matches against him are always based on two or three crucial points,” Tsonga said after the match.

Unseeded British Jamie Murray and Andre Sa of Brazil have never played together before but the team took out the Metz doubles crown on Sunday. They defeated Lukas Dlouhy of Czech Republic and Marcelo Mello of Brazil 6-4 7-6 (7).

Murray and Sa faced a set point in the second set tiebreak but turned it around and won in straight sets. “It was a great week. Really fun. From the first day of practice we have played well,” Murray said.

Murray and Sa received a cheque for €22.000 to share.