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  • Djokovic vs. Tsonga rematch in Thailand Open final

    9/27/08 6:38 PM | Ricky Dimon
    - Novak Djokovic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will battle for another title eight months after squaring off in the Australian Open final. Tsonga is looking for revenge in Bangkok.

    The Thailand Open can't ask for much more than this.

    Sunday's title match boasts the tournament's top two seeds and the same two men who contested the final of the year's first Grand Slam at the Australian Open. It will be Novak Djokovic vs. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in front of what should be a raucous and thoroughly-entertained Bangkok crowd. This is their second head-to-head meeting after Djokovic got the best of Tsonga in four sets Down Under.

    This week has already been eerily reminiscent of the Australian Open in terms of Tsonga's performance. The Frenchman set the tennis world on fire en route the final in Australia, but a knee injury prevented from putting on similar shows throughout the season. Surgery in May sidelined Tsonga until the U.S. Open, where he lost to Tommy Rodredo in the third round. So the No. 20 player in the world, seeded second this week, is just now returning to his Aussie Open form. Tsonga pulled of a grueling win over Lukas Dlouhy in the second round before really catching fire. He crushed Jurgen Melzer in the quarterfinals and then destroyed countryman and No. 4 seed Gael Monfils 6-0, 6-3 in the semifinals.

    Djokovic failed to win any of the next three Grand Slams or the Olympics, but nonetheless he has been remarkably consistent since his breakthrough in Australia. Ranked No. 3 in the world, Djokovic reached the semifinals of the French and U.S. Opens and the Olympics, where he won the bronze medal. He also captured Masters Series titles in Indian Wells and Rome and finished runner-up in Cincinnati. Playing in his first ATP event since an emotionally-draining semifinal appearance in New York, the Serb does not appear to be suffering physically or mentally. Djokovic has ousted Simon Stadler, Robin Söderling, and Tomas Berdych all in straight sets.

    “It will be great to meet Jo once again” said Djokovic. “It will be very interesting to play him. It's the second time we play and again it's in a final. Anything can happen. I don't see myself as the favorite.”

    Tsonga clearly has the talent and is playing well enough to pull off what would be a minor upset. Unlike Melzer and Monfils, however, Djokovic will not just sit back and hopelessly attempt to counter-punch against Tsonga's power. The No. 1 seed should try to be aggressive and make Tsonga move and play some defense, something that he does not like to do. Even if he fails to impose his game on Tsonga, Djokovic has the defensive skills and consistency to make Tsonga work hard to win points. The only guarantee here is that this one will be lots of fun to watch.

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