PARIS '� In the first men's semifinal at Roland Garros Friday, the French fans got a dream match. In the second, the one the locals had anticipated even more than the epic between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, they got a nightmare.
Caroline Blumberg/European Pressphoto AgencyDavid Ferrer went down on his back in delight when the match ended.
Straight SetsFrench Open Crossword ChallengeStraight Sets joined forces with Wordplay to create a puzzle that combines the challenge of New York Times crosswords with some timely tennis trivia.
- Nadal Outlasts Djokovic, Setting Up a Final With Ferrer (June 8, 2013)
- Scoreboard
- Results/Schedule
- Money Leaders
- Scoreboard
- Results/Schedule
- Money Leaders
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was trying to become the first Frenchman to make the final at Roland Garros since 1988 '� and the first to win it in 30 years. But David Ferrer instead gave Spain the final it had wished for.
Ferrer beat a listless Tsonga, 6-1, 7-6 (3), 6-2, to reach his first Grand Slam final. Ferrer's victory set up the first all-Spanish final at the French Open since 2002, when Albert Costa defeated Juan Carlos Ferrero.
Ferrer went down on his back in delight when the match ended. He should savor his moment of triumph as long as he can. Nadal holds a 19-4 career edge over Ferrer, who has not beaten Nadal since the quarterfinals of the 2011 Australian Open. Nadal, a seven-time champion here, has won the last eight meetings, all on clay, including in the semifinals at Roland Garros last year.
Ferrer was in control of the semifinal from the moment he and Tsonga took the court before a half-empty stadium, whose occupants had drained out seeking a break after Nadal's instant classic five-set victory over Djokovic. Tsonga described the circumstances as 'weird.'
Ferrer broke Tsonga's serve in the second game, then again to take a 4-0 lead in just 16 minutes. Tsonga was troubled by unforced errors '� 56 in all '� and by an oddly detached demeanor. He questioned line calls, but otherwise showed little emotion, failing to engage a crowd that seemed eager, whenever it had the opening, to buoy him.
Even when Tsonga looked as if he had finally steadied himself, early in the second set when he took a 3-0 lead, he could not sustain it. Ferrer ran off four games in a row to get back in the set. Tsonga said he was surprised by Ferrer's speed around the court.
Tsonga broke Ferrer's serve to get back on serve, and he saved four break points in the 11th game of the set. But Ferrer overwhelmed him in the tiebreaker, finishing it off with a drop shot that Tsonga had no hope of reaching. By then, the rout was on.
'The plan was to try to be aggressive, to control the match, to take control of the baseline, and try to stay in the court and make him run,' Tsonga said. 'It was tough because, I mean, he defend well, and I always felt like I have to play the perfect shot to put him out of position.'
On a day when the French Open saw so many perfect shots, there were very few for Tsonga.
Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNGaak43BSlU0DsNFYdKYqhg6TMhtg&url=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/08/sports/tennis/ferrer-defeats-tsonga-will-face-nadal-in-final.html
No comments:
Post a Comment