Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is through to the Madrid third round after taking out Robin Haase in a pair of tiebreakers on Wednesday. Tsonga will go up against Fernando Verdasco for a spot in the quarterfinals while Haase is left to lick his tiebreak wounds.
Robin Haase actually played well in a high-quality loss to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Wednesday at the Mutua Madrid Open. Still, it was nothing short of a nightmarish day at the office.
That’s because Haase’s hard-to-believe tiebreaker woes hit a record-high in a 7-6(5), 7-6(2) second-round loss to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Haase lost his 16th and 17th consecutive ATP-level main-draw tiebreakers as Tsonga advanced in one hour and 45 minutes.
Both men held from start to finish in the opening set. Haase served at 80 percent while saving both of the break points he faced, while Tsonga won 85 percent of his first-serve points and fought off his opponent’s lone break chance. The 77th-ranked Dutchman led 3-0 in the ensuing ‘breaker, but perhaps the mental strain of his previous struggles at the crucial moments were too much to overcome. Tsonga won six consecutive points then held on to win the decider seven points to five.
Haase had a chance at avoiding another tiebreaker in the second when he seized the first break of the day for a 2-0 advantage. Tsonga, however, broke right back for 1-2 before both players held the rest of the way. This time, Haase had no chance whatsoever. The eighth-ranked Frenchman surged to a 4-0 lead and cruised through the ‘breaker seven points to two.
Aside from his late-set blunders, Haas served at a stellar 76 percent and struck a clean 18 winners to just 14 unforced errors. Tsonga, who will face Fernando Verdasco on Thursday, struck 44 winners compared to 32 errors.
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