Tsonga Wins the Clash of the Titans

One of the most anticipated encounters of the 2012 London Olympics was the second round tie between Canadian Milos Raonic and French number 1, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Although Tsonga started as the big favorite, he did look rusty and out of sorts in his opener against Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci, so provided his serve was at the usual standards, Milos was in with a great chance. With both players showing a sensational display, the clash of these two titans transformed into an epic life-and-death battle.

Tsonga is no stranger when it comes to success, especially not on grass. The 2008 Australian Open runner-up has now lost two consecutive Wimbledon semifinals, in 2011 to Djokovic, respectively this year to an inspired Andy Murray. On the other side, teen sensation, Raonic, is expected to achieve great things in his career. So far he is yet to fully explore his potential, but there were many occasions on which he showed what he's truly made of. Some of his most memorable performances came earlier this year against the world's greatest, Roger Federer, as he twice pushed the Swiss to a third set tiebreak.

The battle between the two killer servers started rather surprisingly with Tsonga breaking serve to ensure a decisive advantage as he went on to serve out the first set 6-3. A similar situation happened in the second act, with Raonic breaking early to level the match 3-6,6-3. A rain delay stopped the dispute at 2-1 in the decider with the Canadian serving, but when play resumed a few hours later, both players were determined to give it their best. With some sensational serves from both sides, it took very little to differentiate between the two. Jo seemed more fragile serve, but he somehow managed to save several break points keeping his noise on front. With the match going the distance, it was ultimately the Canadian who faltered, being broken in the 52nd game to hand over a hard fought 6-3,3-6,27-25 victory to the Frenchman. The match became the longest in the Olympic history.

While Raonic is left to rue on yet another missed opportunity, Jo goes on to face Spaniard Feliciano Gonzales next. He is projected to square off with world number 2, Novak Djokovic, in the quarterfinals.

In the longest Olympic battle, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga succumbed Milos Raonic 6-3,3-6,27-25 to book his place in the third round.

photos (top-down): AP, Reuters, AP