It will be an all-French final when Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gilles Simon collide on Sunday in Metz. Both men are looking for their 11th career ATP title.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gilles Simon will be facing each other for the eighth time in their careers and for the second time this season when they battle for the Moselle Open title on Sunday.
Their only previous meeting this season also came on indoor hard courts in France, with Tsonga dominating a Marseille semifinal showdown 6-2, 6-2. Tsonga leads the overall head-to-head series 5-2 and he is 5-0 against Simon on hard courts. Simon won clay-court clashes in 2008 and 2012.
Both players are making comebacks from knee injuries. Simon had not played since a Cincinnati first-round retirement, but he is back on track in Metz. The 16th-ranked Frenchman did not lose a single set in victories over Kenny De Schepper, Sam Querrey, and Nicolas Mahut on his way to the final. He is a respectable 32-20 for the season.
“Today was a very good match for me,” Simon assured after beating Mahut 6-3, 7-6(2) on Saturday. “I broke him early and was solid from the baseline. I’ve been practicing for a month before coming back here. I needed to do that and I think that today was a pretty solid match.”
Tsonga has not been quite as impressive this week, with dropped sets to Tobias Kamke and Florian Mayer (he opened with a straight-set scalp of Edouard Roger-Vasselin). Still, the eighth-ranked Frenchman did well to battle back from a set down against both Kamke and Mayer. Tsonga, who had been out since Wimbledon, is 33-11 for the year with a title in Marseille.
Something will have to give in this one, because Simon has an edge in form this week but Tsonga obviously has a massive advantage on hard courts–especially indoors. This may come down to the top seed’s serve. If he makes a high percentage, he will be able to dictate play and hold enough times to make up for his relatively pedestrian return of serve. If his first delivery is off the mark, Simon’s ability to play his way into points and his expert defense will be too much for Tsonga.
Pick: Simon in 3
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Like Ricky’s pick.
I’m backing the gazelle-intensity’ of Simon to withstand Tsonga’s ‘bull in a china shop’ brand of tennis.
@ed nice interview with JW
http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1rmme83
Good to see JW and Geeloo back in action again. 🙂
Yes that interview is very revealing. I’ve long felt J-W’s career was possibly blighted by reaching the AO final too soon in his career. This is often the undoing of younger players who fail to appreciate one swallow does not make a summer and they have to continue the long slog to improve season over season.
J-W is particularly frustrating to watch because his ‘lucidity’ frequently deserts him in the crucial stages of a match which negates his undoubted talent. No wonder he feels frustrated with himself.
Gilles is by far my favourite of the French players. I love watching him play (except when he’s getting thrashed by Andy) and apart from anything else he is seriously dishy.
Felicitations Gilles. And in straight sets too.
Gilles has made the most of his talent, a bit like Ferrer and in stark contrast to a certain Master. G.
smart decisions by Gilles and Rafa not to rush back from injuries
Deucy: I dont know how fluent you are in French but this behind-the-scenes documentary about the French 2010 Davis Cup team is worth watching. You already know my views on Guy Forget’s love of the sound of his own voice! I’m waiting with interest to see how Arnold Clement performs in the role.
http://preview.tinyurl.com/orbsw6o
Federer, Wawrinka and Gasquet must’ve let out a collective sigh of relief when Tsonga lost.
i doubt they are worried about it.
at least not yet.
nice pick, Ricky
I remember the days when Tsonga was going to be the next best thing because he had an in-the-zone match against Nadal.. also Raonic for that matter… time puts everyone in their place, doesn’t it?
i don’t think Tsonga was ever tipped as such.
Raonic never has been either, but in his case it’s just not yet. He still has time to be tipped like that.
Making it to the AO final catapulted Tsonga into the WTF final that year. By this time he’d gotten rather too big for his large shoes. After losing to Davydenko he complained he’d had to fetch his own towel between points because the ball boys/girls were not bringing it to him quickly enough. He reckoned this meant he’s probably had to walk as much as an extra 1000 metres during the course of the match!
To this day he uses an imperious finger snapping motion for it to be brought to him and is prone to flinging it on the ground for them to pick up. So although he is well liked by the spectators, and commentators lap up his on court antics, I get the feeling hard-core tennis fans in general are not quite as enthusiastic about him.
@shierling, yeah..and rafa played terrible tennis in that match by the way…that loss completely changed rafa’s hard court game…he was able to lift his hard court games significantly after this loss…
I remember how some said that Rafa would never beat Tsonga after that loss in the 2008 AO. Then they said that Rafa would never beat Soderling again after losing to him in the 2009 RG.
I don’t know when some are going to get it into their heads that you can never write off Rafa! He will always find a solution and a way to win, no matter who the player.
so true NNY! I think Aus 08 semi was one of the most important matches of rafa’s matches because in the presser he said ‘ i did not play bad’ …well, rafa certainly realized afterwards that he needs to change the way he plays on the hard courts… then we see him getting over the james blake and berdych hurdles in IW-miami ..blake also commented how rafa was being much more aggressive and willing to finish points off himself…
Come OZ 09, we all know what happened…rafa the best hard court player at merbourne by some margin ! 3 times more aggressive !
vamosrafa,
I remember when I first saw Rafa at the 2009 AO, how impressive he was on hard court there. He looked so much more comfortable at net, going for volleys and showing a nice touch. That slam was where I thought that Rafa had worked on his game and become much more proficient on hard court. He was more aggressive, not just staying back on the baseline. I remember thinking that he had a good shot at winning.
At the time I was most worried about Murray. Rafa was set to meet him in the semis. But Murray met up with Verdasco in the quarterfinals and he just outplayed him. I thought my wish had been granted with Rafa not meeting Murray, but in the back of my mind I was a bit nervous seeing how well Verdasco played. If only I knew what was in store for us in the semifinal!
The 2009 AO slam final has always been one of my favorite Rafa wins. I talked about it a good deal on TT. I felt that way because this was supposed to be Fed’s victory. It was in the bag.. Rafa has just come off a grueling marathon slugfest with Verdasco in the semis. He had only one day’s rest to Fed’s two. He had never won a hard court slam. It seemed as though everything was against Rafa. But I knew that if anyone could come out and compete with all that going against him, it was Rafa.
I thought it was one of Rafa’s finest hours. A true example of courage, guts and just digging down deep to find the physical strength to hang in there. I remember having tears in my eyes when Rafa won that first set.
Good memories!
you are reflecting so many of my sentiments NNY ! great post 🙂
rafa was down a break in set 1 and won it 7-5… I was at my friend’s house and everyone there were fed fans lol….i was soooo delighted 😀
I remember luckystar always referencing the 2009 AO as a time when Rafa was hitting that cc backhand with a wicked angle and incredible speed. That shot against Fed was devastating in this match. I remember the so-called pundits and analysts talking endlessly about how Rafa broke down Fed with that cc backhand.
Luckystar always would go back to the 2009 AO as the gold standard for Rafa’s backhand. But it’s interesting that now he is hitting it very much like that. I also thought it was working very well in the 2010 USO final.
I was feeling good after so many online said that Rafa would never win a hard court slam. He showed them! He’s been doing it ever since! 🙂
I echo vamosrafa’s comment. Great post NNY.
i think Tsonga’s run to the AO final was–at the time–treated more like a fluke rather than with expectations that Tsonga would be a future world No. 1 and/or Grand Slam champion
That’s exactly the way it turned out.
I remember Tsonga being touted as the next #1 at the time. He was on the Home page of the ATP all the time being compared to Mohamed Ali until it became clear that his run at the 2008 AO was just a fluke.
well that was a marketing ploy if that happened (i certainly don’t remember it)
but i don’t remember any knowledgeable tennis fans tipping Tsonga as a future world No. 1
Yeah, maybe Tsonga wasn’t said to be the next Nr. 1 but man, did the Fed fans gloat after he trashed Rafa in that AO…I think it was more the joy of seeing Rafa helplessly defeated than any compliment meant for Tsonga. I also remember Rafa and U. Tony being so humble about it, saying that there was nothing they could do in that match but accept Tsonga’s outstanding tennis.
Where does Tsonga get his loftiness from? I would be so much better with a more settled head.
He has an ego that just wont lie down……………..and he still thinks he is so much better than he actually is which he why he has stagnated. Pity because like you say he could so easily be a real force.
Speaking of Rafa, he is going to play in Abu Dhabi in the end of December.
—Abu Dhabi organisers confirm Rafael Nadal return
Sep 24, 2013
The world’s top three – Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray – will ALL be in the UAE capital from December 26-28.
“After the disappointment of last year I promised my fans in the UAE I would return, so I’m very happy it’s happening so soon and I’m back in the player line-up,” said Nadal, a two-time winner of the event.
“This will be my fifth time playing in Abu Dhabi and I’m looking forward to getting back on court there later this year. It’s a great opportunity to test myself, especially just before the start of the new season.
“I’m sure I’ll face some tough competition but I’m hoping to take the title for a third time and play some great tennis for the Abu Dhabi fans in the process. —
http://www.sport360.com/tennis/abu-dhabi-organisers-confirm-rafael-nadal-return
And the best part is,I shall be at the Exho in AbuDhabi. I’m already in Dubai until January.
Thx augusta
You’re like the Reuters of the tennis world 🙂
Shireling@September 24, 2013 at 1:46 pm
I’m only a Reader (of a small part) of the tennis world. 🙂
^^^^ Nice one Shirlig.
Usually there is a certain amount of competition between Gussie and Clayqueen to the first to bring the latest Rafa news but right now Clayqueen is busy living it up in Dubai 😉
ed251137@September 24, 2013 at 2:32 pm
I am trying to be a team player in Rafafans’ World. The only thing that matters here is Rafa.
Just noticed I misspelt your name Shireling.
wc0206@1.05pm
The more knowledgeable tennis fans may not have backed Tsonga as a future star but I well remember a very knowledgeable journalist predicting great things for Gulbis circa 2008!
To be fair to Tsonga, he has been in the top 10 ever since (apart from a spell in ’11 when he was out for a lot of the time with injuries) and his wins against Federer at Wimbledon and Roland Garros were both memorable matches.
I remember well the multiple references comparing Tsonga to Ali. Much of it had to do with the physical resemblance. On American broadcasts, his similarity in appearance to Ali, it seemed, was mentioned at every single match. Here’s a BBC article from back in 2007 making the comparison. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/6251460.stm