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6/11/11 6:38 AM | Ricky Dimon
Rafael Nadal and Juan Martin Del Potro--among many others--have gone by the wayside. Left standing in the top half of the draw are Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and James Ward, who will meet in the semis.
Nadal vs. Del Potro? Nope. More like Tsonga vs. Ward. That's what Saturday's second semifinal at the AEGON Championships will be.
Tsonga and Ward have made their way surprisingly to the final four and will square off for the first time in their careers with a spot in the title match at stake. The winner will advance to a Sunday clash against either Andy Muray or Andy Roddick.
While Tsonga has taken out a more impressive list of opponents, Ward is obviously the Cinderella story of the tournament. Ranked 216th in the world, he had won only two ATP matches this season and eight in his entire career prior to this week. Ward, of course, needed a wild card just to get into the main draw and to say he has capitalized on the opportunity would be an understatement. The 24-year-old Brit has ousted Daniel Cox, Stanislas Wawrinka, defending champ Sam Querrey, and Adrian Mannarino.
Tsonga entered this week with a modest 17-11 record for his 2011 campaign, but he is enjoying one of his best events of the year. The 19th-ranked Frenchman is through to his third semifinal and is looking for a place in his second title match. After getting a first-round bye as the No. 5 seed, Tsonga eliminated Michael Berrer, Michael Llodra, and Rafael Nadal. He battled back from a set down on Friday to upset the French Open winner 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-1.
This is not a glamorous matchup, but it should be a good one with both men in fine form. Ward is brimming with confidence and showed in his three-set win over Mannarino that he can handle the big occasion. Still, Tsonga is tough to beat when his game is clicking and the favorite will likely have enough to pull out a victory after two competitive sets.
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