ID :
103232
Thu, 01/28/2010 - 23:43
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/103232
The shortlink copeid
Federer shapes up for Tsonga clash
He floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee, but Roger Federer is expecting to
meet his physical match in Friday night's Australian Open semi-final showdown with
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Nicknamed Ali for his uncanny resemblance to the world's greatest-ever boxer, Tsonga
has again shown at Melbourne Park that he also packs a frightening knockout punch.
The charismatic Frenchman climbed off the canvas, recovering from two sets one down,
to deliver the quarter-final KO blow against Serbian powerhouse Novak Djokovic in a
thrilling rematch of the pair's 2008 final at Rod Laver Arena.
"Yeah, he's a dangerous player. Very athletic obviously. A good athlete so in the
semis it's going to be tough," Federer said after reaching the last four with a
four-set comeback victory over Nikolay Davydenko.
"I think I've only played twice as far as I remember, so I don't know that much
about him."
Federer's right - the two have only met twice previously but perhaps the mighty
Swiss chooses not to remember too much of their most recent encounter, when Tsonga
overcame a 5-1 third-set deficit to snap the world No.1's 21-match winning streak
last August in Cincinnati.
Tsonga is drawing confidence from that last-up win and also shrugs off as irrelevant
the gulf in big-match experience between the two heavyweight combatants.
"Roger has experience because he won like 15 or 16 grand slams," the world No.10 said.
"But he won the first one without experience, so I think at this level you never
know what's going to happen.
"I have to play my best tennis because Roger played unbelievable again because
Nikolay was in good shape, so it's going to be tough.
"But I will give everything and we will see."
Tsonga has an enviable 15-3 record in Melbourne, making the last eight or better for
three straight years.
The 24-year-old's only defeats at the tournament have come against Djokovic,
Fernando Gonzalez and Andy Roddick on debut.
The impressive strike rate may have something to do with the fact that, like Federer
and unlike so many of their peers, Tsonga embraces the concept of opening the season
with a slam.
Rather than whinge and almost inevitably wilt under the blazing Australian sun,
Federer and Tsonga relish the Christmas-time training and arrive in Melbourne ahead
of the game.
"Maybe I'm stronger, physically stronger," Tsonga said.
"I have time to prepare more than the other grand slams because the season is long
and we have to play a lot of tournaments, to be ready for a lot of tournaments.
"So sometimes it's tough to be ready for Roland Garros and Wimbledon and also the US
Open because we have to play tournament 1000.
"(But) I feel good. I won two tough matches. My two last match was tough, and I did
it - why not against Roger?"
The victor will take on either Scottish fifth seed Andy Murray or 14th-seeded
Croatian Marin Cilic in Sunday night's final.
meet his physical match in Friday night's Australian Open semi-final showdown with
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Nicknamed Ali for his uncanny resemblance to the world's greatest-ever boxer, Tsonga
has again shown at Melbourne Park that he also packs a frightening knockout punch.
The charismatic Frenchman climbed off the canvas, recovering from two sets one down,
to deliver the quarter-final KO blow against Serbian powerhouse Novak Djokovic in a
thrilling rematch of the pair's 2008 final at Rod Laver Arena.
"Yeah, he's a dangerous player. Very athletic obviously. A good athlete so in the
semis it's going to be tough," Federer said after reaching the last four with a
four-set comeback victory over Nikolay Davydenko.
"I think I've only played twice as far as I remember, so I don't know that much
about him."
Federer's right - the two have only met twice previously but perhaps the mighty
Swiss chooses not to remember too much of their most recent encounter, when Tsonga
overcame a 5-1 third-set deficit to snap the world No.1's 21-match winning streak
last August in Cincinnati.
Tsonga is drawing confidence from that last-up win and also shrugs off as irrelevant
the gulf in big-match experience between the two heavyweight combatants.
"Roger has experience because he won like 15 or 16 grand slams," the world No.10 said.
"But he won the first one without experience, so I think at this level you never
know what's going to happen.
"I have to play my best tennis because Roger played unbelievable again because
Nikolay was in good shape, so it's going to be tough.
"But I will give everything and we will see."
Tsonga has an enviable 15-3 record in Melbourne, making the last eight or better for
three straight years.
The 24-year-old's only defeats at the tournament have come against Djokovic,
Fernando Gonzalez and Andy Roddick on debut.
The impressive strike rate may have something to do with the fact that, like Federer
and unlike so many of their peers, Tsonga embraces the concept of opening the season
with a slam.
Rather than whinge and almost inevitably wilt under the blazing Australian sun,
Federer and Tsonga relish the Christmas-time training and arrive in Melbourne ahead
of the game.
"Maybe I'm stronger, physically stronger," Tsonga said.
"I have time to prepare more than the other grand slams because the season is long
and we have to play a lot of tournaments, to be ready for a lot of tournaments.
"So sometimes it's tough to be ready for Roland Garros and Wimbledon and also the US
Open because we have to play tournament 1000.
"(But) I feel good. I won two tough matches. My two last match was tough, and I did
it - why not against Roger?"
The victor will take on either Scottish fifth seed Andy Murray or 14th-seeded
Croatian Marin Cilic in Sunday night's final.
