Saturday, June 11, 2011

Exuberant Tsonga Brings Nadal Down To Earth

After Rafael Nadal's success at Roland Garros, I would get to cheer any defeat of the Spaniard. I honestly believe that Federer should have won that match, as he genuinely deserved the title. Anyway, Nadal won once again and that's that. 
While Federer decided in the last minute to skip Halle, taking time off to fully recover after the Parisian fortnight, Nadal chose to play in Queen's. Like last year, the Spaniard was shaky in making the transition from clay, but, unlike 2010, he managed to avoid an early defeat. Although he struggled to get passed Czech Radek Stepanek, Nadal got himself into huge trouble when facing Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarterfinals. The exuberant Frenchman knows how to put on a show and this time was no exception. After losing the first set on a tie-break, Tsonga fought his way back into the match, winning a fairly disputed second set 6-4. Having leveled the match at one set a piece, the Frenchman unleashed a ruthless display in the decider, winning it 6-1. Although Nadal appeared tired and out of sorts in the end, this was a fine performance from Tsonga. It might mark his return to form after a rather dark period marred by injuries. From Rafael, I would expect more such loses, as I really don't like how he gets away with playing a mediocre tennis. It's very frustrating knowing he isn't playing at his best yet he is still winning important tournaments.

photos (top-down):  Reuters, GETTY IMAGES

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