Help
10/2/09 5:50 PM | Ricky Dimon
Top two seeds and fellow Frenchmen Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gilles Simon book their spots in the Bangkok semifinals on Friday. They score three-set victories over Marco Chiudinelli and Evgeny Korolev, respectively.
(1) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga d. (Q) Marco Chiudinelli 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-4
One day after surviving Ernests Gulbis in a third-set tiebreaker, Tsonga outlasted Chiudinelli in two hours and 21 minutes to reach the semifinals of the PTT Thailand Open on Friday night. Again, Tsonga had to bounce back after dropping the first set in a tiebreaker. The two players exchanged one break of serve each en route to the initial decider, in which Tsonga saved one set point on his opponent's serve at 5-6. An in-form Chiudinelli, however, took the next two points to seize a surprising one-set advantage.
Although the Swiss qualifier continued to play well throughout the second and third sets, Tsonga raised his level and was simply--but just barely--too good. One break was enough for the top-seeded Frenchman to win the second frame of play, as he did not face a single break point along the way. Tsonga broke serve at 2-2 in the final and consolidated the lead by saving all three of the break points he faced. Chiudinelli earned one of those chances with Tsonga serving at 5-4, but the world No. 7 erased it and served out the match two points later. Tsonga finished with 20 aces and two double-faults (identical numbers to the ones he posted against Gulbis) and will now go up against either Viktor Troicki or John Isner.
(2) Gilles Simon d. Evgeny Korolev 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
Korolev blew Robby Ginepri right off the court in round two, but Simon managed to survive the onslaught and advance after one hour and 43 minutes of hard-fought tennis. In the first set, however, Korolev's power got the best of Simon on fast indoor hard courts. One break was enough for the 66th-ranked Russian to win the opening frame of play, as he did not face a single break point.
Neither player managed to win many return points in set two, but Simon earned one break to level the match. Although Korolev no longer had the momentum, he fought back for an immediate break and a 2-0 lead in the third. Nonetheless, Simon broke right back and was too consistent for Korolev the rest of the way. The second-seeded Frenchman kept his errors to a bare minimum throughout the final two sets and finished with seven aces to only one double-fault. Next up for Simon is No. 6 seed Jurgen Melzer, a straight-set winner over Andreas Beck.
Tell a friend »
Scan QR code to access Unibet mobile.
Bet on Sports wherever you are and whenever you like, with Unibet's quick and simple mobile client you can place bets, check results and see live odds.
For more info about QR codes & scanners click here.
Contact us
/ About us
/ Cookies
/ Recommended links
/ Advertise
/ Sitemap
Tennistalk v1.5.0
Disclaimer © 2001-2012, Moneytainment Media Ltd - All rights reserved
