Tsonga and Wawrinka in suprise breakthrough to semi-final
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Stan Wawrinka upset the form books on day 10 to advance to the semi-finals with quarter-final wins over higher-ranked opponents.
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On centre court the 14th seed Tsonga moved into his second French Open semi in three years with a 6-1 6-4 4-6 3-6 6-3 win against the Japanese fifth seed Kei Nishikori.
Despite the distance in the rankings, 30-year-old Tsonga is vastly more experienced than Nishikori. The Frenchman, playing in his eighth Roland Garros, showed that wealth of nous during the opening set which he pocketed 6-1.
The second set was a similar procession and Tsonga was about to serve for it at 5-2 up but play was suspended for 40 minutes after a metal hoarding fell from a giant scoreboard injuring three spectators. They were treated by medical staff while repair crews fixed the screen.
Tsonga eventually took the set 6-4. But he seemed unhinged by the interruption. Nishikori showed more poise in the third and it wasn’t a surprise when he claimed it 6-4. He brought himself level by taking the fourth set 6-3. The fifth was about guts. Tsonga broke to lead 3-1 and he consolidated his advantage with his own service. From there, powered by the crowd and the realisation that force was probably the best policy, he served out the match after three hours and 45 minutes. He fell to his knees amid the acclaim of his partisans.
It wasn’t quite so epic on court Suzanne Lenglen, Wawrinka won the all-Swiss affair. The eighth seed saw off his second seeded compatriot Roger Federer in straight sets to reach his first semi-final at Roland Garros in 11 visits. It was their 19th encounter on the tour. Federer had won 16 of the previous meetings, the most recent was in the semi-final at the Rome Masters last month.
Federer said Wawrinka was simply more solid in the windy conditions. “Stan made it tough,” conceded the 2009 champion. “When you lose, there is always a bunch of things: the opponent, the conditions, the court but it's the same for both guys. I don't think this is the first time anybody has seen Stan play this way. We know he can do this.”
The 33-year-old who had been seeking an 18th grand slam title, added: “It's just nice for him now to string it together on a big occasion like this at the French where I always thought he'd have his best chance to do well.”
Wawrinka, who won the boys’ singles title at Roland Garros in 2003, concurred. “I know in the past for me clay was really my surface. I always am very happy to play on clay because I feel strong and it's easy for me.”
Wawrinka v Tsonga is not the semi-final expected from the bottom half of the men’s draw. And the women were equally off kilter. Ana Ivanovic against Lucie Safarova did not form part of the pre-tournament script.
Ivanovic won the French Open title in 2008 but the Serb hasn’t been anywhere near the latter stages of the event since she captured the prize as a tender 20-year-old. Fame and pressure bore down on her to such an extent that rather than proceeding to dominate the circuit, she tumbled down the rankings.
She is now back in the top 10 and will be the slight favourite in the clash against Safarova.
“Last year I lost to her in straight sets,” recalled Ivanovic. “She's a great player. And she has beaten the defending champion here this year. She’s also beaten top 10 players. It's going to be tough for me, so I’ll really need to focus.”
A wise analysis since the Czech 13th seed maintained the form and aggression that allowed her to divest Maria Sharapova of her Roland Garros crown in the last 16. Safarova displayed the same ruthless precision as she muscled past the Spanish 21st seed Garbine Muguruza 7-6 6-3 to reach her second grand slam semi-final.
“It feels pretty amazing,” said the 28-year-old. “I still haven’t really digested it yet – the first time in the semis in Paris. I’ve only been this far once before in a grand slam so it's nice to be at this stage again.”
"But of course, it's step by step," she added. "I’ve got to think about my next match. Ivanovic is a tough opponent."
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