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Tuesday, 12 August 2014 00:26 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Reuters: Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga had one more surprise in his bag of upsets, beating second seeded Roger Federer 7-5 7-6 (3) to cap a scintillating march to the Rogers Cup title on Sunday.
After knocking off world number one Novak Djokovic in the third round, taking out twice champion and eighth seed Andy Murray in the quarters and seventh seed Grigor Dimitrov in the semis, Tsonga denied 17-time grand slam winner Federer a landmark 80th career title.
“I played well all this week, I beat many good guys,” said Tsonga. “It’s a big achievement because I worked really hard to come back from my knee injury last year. Unfortunately there is no secret...behind this there is a lot of work. I’m waiting for this since couple of months now. I was looking for my best level, today I had it and it’s great.”
Certainly there was no disputing that Tsonga’s win was well-deserved, the 13th seeded Frenchman’s hit list including players who had won seven of the last 10 Canadian titles (Djokovic 2012, 2011, 2007; Murray 2010, 2009 and Federer 2004, 2006).
It marked the first time since 2002 that a player had beaten the four top seeds to win a Masters series event.
“He beat great players along the way and backed it up with another great final,” said Federer, who turned 33 on Friday and had been hoping to celebrate his birthday by lifting the trophy. “No excuses. I think he played really solid and well when he had to. I wish I could have played a bit better in the finals today. There were things I could have done better, but, overall it was a positive week. I go away from this feeling good about my chances next week and also at the U.S. Open.”
In 16 career meetings Tsonga had beaten the Swiss maestro just five times but three came on the Canadian hard courts.
With Federer appearing in his fifth Canadian final and Tsonga having advanced to at least the semi-finals in three of his four trips to Canada, both men had a cool look of confidence as they walked onto a blazing hot centre court.
In a week of superb performances, Tsonga may have saved his best for last, the second seeded Swiss unable to manage a single break chance the entire match.
Federer did not allow Tsonga many break opportunities himself but the one he did, in the first set, was all the Frenchman needed converting the chance to clinch the set and a 1-0 lead.
Play remained tight in the second with no break points, the set going to a tie-break won by Tsonga, who took four straight points after the breaker had been deadlocked at 3-3
“What is achieved is achieved and I will just continue on this way, continue to work hard,” said Tsonga, when asked about his U.S. Open chances. “This win gives me a lot of hope for the rest of the year, of course. But I will continue to do my work like I did last couple of months and I hope I will continue to win.”
Radwanska eases past Venus Williams to win Rogers Cup
Reuters: Agnieszka Radwanska tamed Venus Williams 6-4 6-2 to win the Rogers Cup in Montreal on Sunday, the third seeded Pole setting herself up as a player to watch at the U.S. Open.
The first win of the season for Radwanska, it provided a timely jolt of confidence going into Flushing Meadows and the year’s final grand slam with 11 of her 14 career titles having come on hard courts.
“One of my biggest title,” said Radwanska, who has registered a long line of firsts for tennis in her country, including Poland’s first grand slam finalist and first Pole to win a WTA Tour title. “As you can see in the draw had pretty all top players. So very, very special title for me. I think she (Williams) played great tennis whole week, playing and beating a lot of good players on the way to the final. I think I even happier to beat Venus when she’s really on fire.”
Williams, a twice U.S. Open champion, will also be buoyed by her performance in Montreal with a projected return on Monday to the world rankings top 20 for the first time since March 2013.
The tournament also pushed Williams past the $30 million in career earnings, joining an elite club that includes her sister Serena and Maria Sharapova.
“I totally wanted to be in the top 20 like earlier this year,” said Williams. “I’ve been having goals. It’s always a goal in mind for myself and hopefully most tennis players. I would love to hit the top 16 and just keep going forward after that. Obviously, if I can continue this level of tennis, it will be something that can happen for me.”
After a grinding and emotional three-set win over top ranked sister Serena in Saturday’s semi-finals, the 34-year-old American appeared to have little left against an energetic and focused opponent almost 10 years her junior.
“It’s been a really long week, I played like six matches in a row,” said Williams. “Against her you really have to be patient. I just fell a little short today. I wanted to give more but I just didn’t have it. I really would like to think under circumstances where I could give everything I have, that the results could have been a little different. She just was a little too good today.”
Radwanska took control early on a sunny centre court, breaking Williams twice to race in front 4-1.
Williams would break back but the world number five would not buckle and easily took the opening set.
She opened the second set with another deflating break to quickly put the pressure on Williams and then broke the dejected American again to go up 5-2 before holding serve and finishing off the match with an emphatic ace.
“I was playing much better every match,” said Radwanska. “I didn’t start that well from my first match. I think every match was much better. That’s why I think I sitting right here now.”
